System and method for server based control

ABSTRACT

A system and method in a building or vehicle for an actuator operation in response to a sensor according to a control logic, the system comprising a router or a gateway communicating with a device associated with the sensor and a device associated with the actuator over in-building or in-vehicle networks, and an external Internet-connected control server associated with the control logic implementing a PID closed linear control loop and communicating with the router over external network for controlling the in-building or in-vehicle phenomenon. The sensor may be a microphone or a camera, and the system may include voice or image processing as part of the control logic. A redundancy is used by using multiple sensors or actuators, or by using multiple data paths over the building or vehicle internal or external communication. The networks may be wired or wireless, and may be BAN, PAN, LAN, WAN, or home networks.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to an apparatus and method for controlsuch as in a building or in a vehicle using a server implementinggateway or control functionalities.

BACKGROUND

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks thatuse the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP), includingTransmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), toserve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks thatconsists of millions of private, public, academic, business, andgovernment networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by abroad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. TheInternet carries a vast range of information resources and services,such as the interlinked hypertext documents on the World Wide Web (WWW)and the infrastructure to support electronic mail. The Internet backbonerefers to the principal data routes between large, strategicallyinterconnected networks and core routers in the Internet. These dataroutes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and otherhigh-capacity network centers, the Internet exchange points and networkaccess points that interchange Internet traffic between the countries,continents and across the oceans of the world. Traffic interchangebetween Internet service providers (often Tier 1 networks) participatingin the Internet backbone exchange traffic by privately negotiatedinterconnection agreements, primarily governed by the principle ofsettlement-free peering.

The Internet Protocol (IP) is the principal communications protocol usedfor relaying datagrams (packets) across a network using the InternetProtocol Suite. Responsible for routing packets across networkboundaries, it is the primary protocol that establishes the Internet. IPis the primary protocol in the Internet Layer of the Internet ProtocolSuite and has the task of delivering datagrams from the source host tothe destination host based on their addresses. For this purpose, IPdefines addressing methods and structures for datagram encapsulation.Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is the dominant protocol of theInternet. IPv4 is described in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)Request for Comments (RFC) 791 and RFC 1349, and the successor, InternetProtocol Version 6 (IPv6), is currently active and in growing deploymentworldwide. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses (providing 4 billion: 4.3×10⁹addresses), while IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses (providing 340 undecillionor 3.4×10³⁸ addresses), as described in RFC 2460.

The Internet Protocol is responsible for addressing hosts and routingdatagrams (packets) from a source host to the destination host acrossone or more IP networks. For this purpose the Internet Protocol definesan addressing system that has two functions. Addresses identify hostsand provide a logical location service. Each packet is tagged with aheader that contains the meta-data for the purpose of delivery. Thisprocess of tagging is also called encapsulation. IP is a connectionlessprotocol for use in a packet-switched Link Layer network, and does notneed circuit setup prior to transmission. The aspects of deliveryguaranteeing, proper sequencing, avoidance of duplicate delivery, anddata integrity are addressed by an upper transport layer protocol (e.g.,TC—Transmission Control Protocol and UDP—User Datagram Protocol).

The main aspects of the IP technology are IP addressing and routing.Addressing refers to how end hosts become assigned IP addresses and howsub-networks of IP host addresses are divided and grouped together. IProuting is performed by all hosts, but most importantly by internetworkrouters, which typically use either Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs) orExternal Gateway Protocols (EGPs) to help make IP datagram forwardingdecisions across IP connected networks. Core routers serving in theInternet backbone commonly use the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) as perRFC 4098 or Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). Other prior artpublications relating to Internet related protocols and routing includethe following chapters of the publication number 1-587005-001-3 by CiscoSystems, Inc. (7/99) entitled: “Internetworking Technologies Handbook”,which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein: Chapter 5: “Routing Basics” (pages 5-1 to 5-10),Chapter 30: “Internet Protocols” (pages 30-1 to 30-16), Chapter 32:“IPv6” (pages 32-1 to 32-6), Chapter 45: “OSI Routing” (pages 45-1 to45-8) and Chapter 51: “Security” (pages 51-1 to 51-12), as well as IBMCorporation, International Technical Support Organization RedbookDocuments No. GG24-4756-00 entitled: “Local area Network Concepts andProducts: LAN Operation Systems and management”, 1st Edition May 1996,Redbook Document No. GG24-4338-00 entitled: “Introduction to NetworkingTechnologies”, 1^(st) Edition April 1994, Redbook Document No.GG24-2580-01 “IP Network Design Guide”, 2^(nd) Edition June 1999, andRedbook Document No. GG24-3376-07 “TCP/IP Tutorial and TechnicalOverview”, ISBN 0738494682 8^(th) Edition December 2006, which areincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

A Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) and Wireless Distribution Systems (WDS)are known in the art to be a communication network made up of clients,mesh routers and gateways organized in a mesh topology and connectedusing radio. Such wireless networks may be based on DSR as the routingprotocol. WMNs are standardized in IEEE 802.11s and described in aslide-show by W. Steven Conner, Intel Corp. et al. entitled: “IEEE802.11s Tutorial” presented at the IEEE 802 Plenary, Dallas on Nov. 13,2006, in a slide-show by Eugen Borcoci of University PolitehnicaBucharest, entitled: “Wireless Mesh Networks Technologies:Architectures, Protocols, Resource Management and Applications”,presented in INFOWARE Conference on Aug. 22-29^(th) 2009 in Cannes,France, and in an IEEE Communication magazine paper by Joseph D. Campand Edward W. Knightly of Electrical and Computer Engineering, RiceUniversity, Houston, Tex., USA, entitled: “The IEEE 802.11s ExtendedService Set Mesh Networking Standard”, which are incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The arrangementdescribed herein can be equally applied to such wireless networks,wherein two clients exchange information using different paths by usingmesh routers as intermediate and relay servers. Commonly in wirelessnetworks, the routing is based on MAC addresses. Hence, the abovediscussion relating to IP addresses applies in such networks to usingthe MAC addresses for identifying the client originating the message,the mesh routers (or gateways) serving as the relay servers, and theclient serving as the ultimate destination computer.

The Internet architecture employs a client-server model, among otherarrangements. The terms ‘server’ or ‘server computer’ relates herein toa device or computer (or a plurality of computers) connected to theInternet and is used for providing facilities or services to othercomputers or other devices (referred to in this context as ‘clients’)connected to the Internet. A server is commonly a host that has an IPaddress and executes a ‘server program’, and typically operates as asocket listener. Many servers have dedicated functionality such as webserver, Domain Name System (DNS) server (described in RFC 1034 and RFC1035), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server (described inRFC 2131 and RFC 3315), mail server, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) serverand database server. Similarly, the term ‘client’ herein refers to aprogram or to a device or a computer (or a series of computers)executing this program, which accesses a server over the Internet for aservice or a resource. Clients commonly initiate connections that aserver may accept. For non-limiting example, web browsers are clientsthat connect to web servers for retrieving web pages, and email clientsconnect to mail storage servers for retrieving mails.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a Software Application (SA) supplied bya service provider, namely, a SaaS Vendor. The service is supplied andconsumed over the internet, thus eliminating requirements to install andrun applications locally on a site of a customer as well as simplifyingmaintenance and support. Particularly it is advantageous in massivebusiness applications. Licensing is a common form of billing for theservice and it is paid periodically. SaaS is becoming ever more commonas a form of SA delivery over the Internet and is being facilitated in atechnology infrastructure called “Cloud Computing”. In this form of SAdelivery, where the SA is controlled by a service provider, a customermay experience stability and data security issues. In many cases thecustomer is a business organization that is using the SaaS for businesspurposes such as business software, hence, stability and data securityare primary requirements.

The term “Cloud computing” as used herein is defined as a technologyinfrastructure facilitating supplement, consumption and delivery of ITservices. The IT services are internet based and may involve elasticprovisioning of dynamically scalable and time virtualized resources. Theterm “Software as a Service (SaaS)” as used herein in this application,is defined as a model of software deployment whereby a provider licensesan SA to customers for use as a service on demand. The term “customer”as used herein in this application, is defined as a business entity thatis served by an SA, provided on the SaaS platform. A customer may be aperson or an organization and may be represented by a user thatresponsible for the administration of the application in aspects ofpermissions configuration, user related configuration, and data securitypolicy.

The term “SaaS Platform” as used herein in this application is definedas a computer program that acts as a host to SAs that reside on it.Essentially, a SaaS platform can be considered as a type of specializedSA server. The platform manages underlying computer hardware andsoftware resources and uses these resources to provide hosted SAs withmulti-tenancy and on-demand capabilities, commonly found in SaaSapplications. Generally, the hosted SAs are compatible with SaaSplatform and support a single group of users. The platform holds theresponsibility for distributing the SA as a service to multiple groupsof users over the internet. The SaaS Platform can be considered as alayer of abstraction above the traditional application server, creatinga computing platform that parallels the value offered by the traditionaloperating system, only in a web-centric fashion. The SaaS platformresponds to requirements of software developers. The requirements are toreduce time and difficulty involved in developing highly available SAs,and on-demand enterprise grade business SAs.

ZigBee is a specification for a suite of high level communicationprotocols using small, low-power digital radios based on an IEEE 802standard for personal area networks. Applications include wireless lightswitches, electrical meters with in-home-displays, and other consumerand industrial equipment that require short-range wireless transfer ofdata at relatively low rates. The technology defined by the ZigBeespecification is intended to be simpler and less expensive than otherWPANs, such as Bluetooth. ZigBee is targeted at radio-frequency (RF)applications that require a low data rate, long battery life, and securenetworking. ZigBee has a defined rate of 250 kbps suited for periodic orintermittent data or a single signal transmission from a sensor or inputdevice.

ZigBee builds upon the physical layer and medium access control definedin IEEE standard 802.15.4 (2003 version) for low-rate WPANs. Thespecification goes on to complete the standard by adding four maincomponents: network layer, application layer, ZigBee Device Objects(ZDOs) and manufacturer-defined application objects which allow forcustomization and favor total integration. Besides adding two high-levelnetwork layers to the underlying structure, the most significantimprovement is the introduction of ZDOs. These are responsible for anumber of tasks, which include keeping of device roles, management ofrequests to join a network, device discovery and security. BecauseZigBee nodes can go from sleep to active mode in 30 ms or less, thelatency can be low and devices can be responsive, particularly comparedto Bluetooth wake-up delays, which are typically around three seconds.ZigBee nodes can sleep most of the time, thus average power consumptioncan be lower, resulting in longer battery life.

There are three different types of ZigBee devices: ZigBee coordinator(ZC), which are the most capable device, the coordinator forms the rootof the network tree and might bridge to other networks. There is exactlyone ZigBee coordinator in each network since it is the device thatstarted the network originally. It is able to store information aboutthe network, including acting as the Trust Center & repository forsecurity keys. ZigBee Router (ZR) may be running an application functionas well as can acting as an intermediate router, passing on data fromother devices. ZigBee End Device (ZED) contains functionality to talk tothe parent node (either the coordinator or a router). This relationshipallows the node to be asleep a significant amount of the time therebygiving long battery life. A ZED requires the least amount of memory, andtherefore can be less expensive to manufacture than a ZR or ZC.

The protocols build on recent algorithmic research (Ad-hoc On-demandDistance Vector, neuRFon) to automatically construct a low-speed ad-hocnetwork of nodes. In most large network instances, the network will be acluster of clusters. It can also form a mesh or a single cluster. Thecurrent ZigBee protocols support beacon and non-beacon enabled networks.In non-beacon-enabled networks, an unslotted CSMA/CA channel accessmechanism is used. In this type of network, ZigBee Routers typicallyhave their receivers continuously active, requiring a more robust powersupply. However, this allows for heterogeneous networks in which somedevices receive continuously, while others only transmit when anexternal stimulus is detected.

In beacon-enabled networks, the special network nodes called ZigBeeRouters transmit periodic beacons to confirm their presence to othernetwork nodes. Nodes may sleep between the beacons, thus lowering theirduty cycle and extending their battery life. Beacon intervals depend onthe data rate; they may range from 15.36 milliseconds to 251.65824seconds at 250 Kbit/s, from 24 milliseconds to 393.216 seconds at 40Kbit/s and from 48 milliseconds to 786.432 seconds at 20 Kbit/s. Ingeneral, the ZigBee protocols minimize the time the radio is on, so asto reduce power use. In beaconing networks, nodes only need to be activewhile a beacon is being transmitted. In non-beacon-enabled networks,power consumption is decidedly asymmetrical: some devices are alwaysactive, while others spend most of their time sleeping.

Except for the Smart Energy Profile 2.0, current ZigBee devices conformto the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network(LR-WPAN) standard. The standard specifies the lower protocol layers—thePHYsical layer (PHY), and the Media Access Control (MAC) portion of theData Link Layer (DLL). The basic channel access mode is “Carrier Sense,Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance” (CSMA/CA). That is, the nodes talkin the same way that people converse; they briefly check to see that noone is talking before they start. There are three notable exceptions tothe use of CSMA. Beacons are sent on a fixed timing schedule, and do notuse CSMA. Message acknowledgments also do not use CSMA. Finally, devicesin Beacon Oriented networks that have low latency real-time requirementsmay also use Guaranteed Time Slots (GTS), which by definition do not useCSMA.

Z-Wave is a wireless communications protocol by the Z-Wave Alliance(http://www.z-wave.com) designed for home automation, specifically forremote control applications in residential and light commercialenvironments. The technology uses a low-power RF radio embedded orretrofitted into home electronics devices and systems, such as lighting,home access control, entertainment systems and household appliances.Z-Wave communicates using a low-power wireless technology designedspecifically for remote control applications. Z-Wave operates in thesub-gigahertz frequency range, around 900 MHz. This band competes withsome cordless telephones and other consumer electronics devices, butavoids interference with WiFi and other systems that operate on thecrowded 2.4 GHz band. Z-Wave is designed to be easily embedded inconsumer electronics products, including battery operated devices suchas remote controls, smoke alarms and security sensors.

Z-Wave is a mesh networking technology where each node or device on thenetwork is capable of sending and receiving control commands throughwalls or floors and use intermediate nodes to route around householdobstacles or radio dead spots that might occur in the home. Z-Wavedevices can work individually or in groups, and can be programmed intoscenes or events that trigger multiple devices, either automatically orvia remote control. The Z-wave radio specifications include bandwidth of9,600 bit/s or 40 Kbit/s, fully interoperable, GFSK modulation, and arange of approximately 100 feet (or 30 meters) assuming “open air”conditions, with reduced range indoors depending on building materials,etc. The Z-Wave radio uses the 900 MHz ISM band: 908.42 MHz (UnitedStates); 868.42 MHz (Europe); 919.82 MHz (Hong Kong); 921.42 MHz(Australia/New Zealand).

Z-Wave uses a source-routed mesh network topology and has one or moremaster controllers that control routing and security. The devices cancommunicate to another by using intermediate nodes to actively routearound and circumvent household obstacles or radio dead spots that mightoccur. A message from node A to node C can be successfully deliveredeven if the two nodes are not within range, providing that a third nodeB can communicate with nodes A and C. If the preferred route isunavailable, the message originator will attempt other routes until apath is found to the “C” node. Therefore a Z-Wave network can span muchfarther than the radio range of a single unit; however with several ofthese hops a delay may be introduced between the control command and thedesired result. In order for Z-Wave units to be able to routeunsolicited messages, they cannot be in sleep mode. Therefore, mostbattery-operated devices are not designed as repeater units. A Z-Wavenetwork can consist of up to 232 devices with the option of bridgingnetworks if more devices are required.

Most existing offices and some of the newly built buildings facilitatethe network structure based on dedicated wiring. However, implementingsuch a network in existing buildings typically requires installation ofnew wiring infrastructure. Such installation of new wiring may beimpractical, expensive and problematic. As a result, many technologies(referred to as “no new wires” technologies) have been proposed in orderto facilitate a LAN in a building without adding new wiring. Some ofthese techniques use existing utility wiring installed primarily forother purposes such as telephone, electricity, cable television (CATV),and so forth. Such approach offers the advantage of being able toinstall such systems and networks without the additional and oftensubstantial cost of installing separate wiring within the building.

The technical aspect for allowing the wiring to carry both the service(such as telephony, electricity and CATV) and the data communicationsignals commonly involves using an FDM technique (Frequency DivisionMultiplexing). In such configuration, the service signal and the datacommunication signals are carried across the respective utility wiringeach using a distinct frequency spectrum band. The concept of FDM isknown in the art, and provides means of splitting the bandwidth carriedby a medium such as wiring. In the case of a telephone wiring carryingboth telephony and data communication signals, the frequency spectrum issplit into a low-frequency band capable of carrying an analog telephonysignal and a high-frequency band capable of carrying data communicationor other signals.

A network in a house based on using powerline-based home network is alsoknown in the art. The medium for networking is the in-house power lines,which is used for carrying both the AC power (mains) power and the datacommunication signals. A PLC (Power Line Carrier) modem converts a datacommunication signal (such as Ethernet IEEE802.3) to a signal which canbe carried over the power lines, without affecting and being affected bythe power signal available over those wires. A consortium named HomePlug(www.homeplug.org) is active in standardizing powerline technologies. Apowerline communication system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,571to Bullock et al., which also provides a comprehensive list of prior artpublications referring to powerline technology and applications. Anon-limiting example for such PLC modem housed as a snap-on module isHomePlug1.0 based Ethernet-to-Powerline Bridge model DHP-100 fromD-Link® Systems, Inc. of Irvine, Calif., USA. Outlets with built in PLCmodems for use with combined data and power using powerlines aredescribed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0062990 toSchaeffer et al. entitled ‘Powerline Bridge Apparatus’. Such poweroutlets are available as part of PIugLAN™ by Asoka USA Corporation ofSan Carlos, Calif., USA.

Similarly, carrying data over existing in home CATV coaxial cabling isalso known in the art, for example in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2002/0166124 to Gurantz et al. A non-limiting example ofhome networking over CATV coaxial cables using outlets is described inU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0194383 to Cohen et al.Such outlets are available as part of HomeRAN™ system from TMT Ltd. ofJerusalem, Israel.

The term “telephony” herein denotes in general any kind of telephoneservice, including analog and digital service, such as IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN). Analog telephony, popularly known as“Plain Old Telephone Service” (“POTS”) has been in existence for over100 years, and is suited for the transmission and switching of voicesignals in the 300-3400 Hz portion (or “voice band” or “telephone band”)of the audio spectrum. The familiar POTS network supports real-time,low-latency, high-reliability, moderate-fidelity voice telephony, and iscapable of establishing a session between two end-points, each using ananalog telephone set.

The terms “telephone”, “telephone set”, and “telephone device” hereindenote any apparatus, without limitation, which can connect to a PublicSwitch Telephone Network (“PSTN”), including apparatus for both analogand digital telephony, non-limiting examples of which are analogtelephones, digital telephones, facsimile (“fax”) machines, automatictelephone answering machines, voice modems, and data modems. In-hometelephone service usually employs two or four wires, to which telephonesets are connected via telephone outlets.

Similarly to the powerlines and CATV cabling described above, it isoften desirable to use existing telephone wiring simultaneously for bothtelephony and data networking. In this way, establishing a new localarea network in a home or other building is simplified, because there isno need to install additional wiring. Using FDM technique to carry videoover active residential telephone wiring is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No.5,010,399 to Goodman et al. entitled: “Video Transmission and ControlSystem Utilizing Internal Telephone Lines”, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,455to Rogers et al. entitled: “Video Modem for Transmitting Video Data overOrdinary Telephone Wires”, which are both incorporated in their entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

Existing products for carrying data digitally over residential telephonewiring concurrently with active telephone service by using FDM commonlyuses a technology known as HomePNA (Home Phoneline Networking Alliance)(www.homepna.org). This phoneline interface has been standardized asITU-T (ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector) recommendationG.989.1. The HomePNA technology is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,899to Foley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,443 to Dichter, U.S. Patent ApplicationNo. 2002/0019966 to Yagil et al., U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2003/0139151 to Lifshitz et al., and others. The available bandwidthover the wiring is split into a low-frequency band capable of carryingan analog telephony signal (POTS), and a high-frequency band isallocated for carrying data communication signals. In such FDM basedconfiguration, telephony is not affected, while a data communicationcapability is provided over existing telephone wiring within a home.

Prior art technologies for using the in-place telephone wiring for datanetworking are based on single carrier modulation techniques, such as AM(Amplitude Modulation), FM (Frequency Modulation) and PM (PhaseModulation), as well as bit encoding techniques such as QAM (QuadratureAmplitude Modulation) and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying). Spreadspectrum technologies, to include both DSSS (Direct Sequence SpreadSpectrum) and FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) are known in theart. Spread spectrum commonly employs Multi-Carrier Modulation (MCM)such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). OFDM andother spread spectrum are commonly used in wireless communicationsystems, and in particular in WLAN networks. As explained in thedocument entitled “IEEE 802.11g Offers Higher Data Rates and LongerRange” to Jim Zyren et al. by Intersil which is hereby incorporated byreference, multi-carrier modulation (such as OFDM) is employed in suchsystems in order to overcome the signal impairment due to multipath.

A popular approach to home networking (as well as office and enterpriseenvironments) is communication via radio frequency (RF) distributionsystem that transports RF signals throughout a building to and from datadevices. Commonly referred to as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN),such communication makes use of the Industrial, Scientific and Medical(ISM) frequency spectrum. In the US, three of the bands within the ISMspectrum are the A band, 902-928 MHz; the B band, 2.4-2.484 GHz (a.k.a.2.4 GHz); and the C band, 5.725-5.875 GHz (a.k.a. 5 GHz). Overlappingand/or similar bands are used in different regions such as Europe andJapan.

In order to allow interoperability between equipment manufactured bydifferent vendors, few WLAN standards have evolved, as part of the IEEE802.11 standard group, branded as WiFi (www.wi-fi.org). IEEE 802.11bdescribes a communication using the 2.4 GHz frequency band andsupporting communication rate of 11 Mb/s, IEEE 802.11a uses the 5 GHzfrequency band to carry 54 MB/s and IEEE 802.11g uses the 2.4 GHz bandto support 54 Mb/s.

A node/client with a WLAN interface is commonly referred to as STA(Wireless Station/Wireless client). The STA functionality may beembedded as part of the data unit, or alternatively be a dedicated unit,referred to as bridge, coupled to the data unit. While STAs maycommunicate without any additional hardware (ad-hoc mode), such networkusually involves Wireless Access Point (a.k.a. WAP or AP) as a mediationdevice. The WAP implements the Basic Stations Set (BSS) and/or ad-hocmode based on Independent BSS (IBSS). STA, client, bridge and WAP willbe collectively referred to hereon as WLAN unit.

Bandwidth allocation for IEEE 802.11g wireless in the U.S. allowsmultiple communication sessions to take place simultaneously, whereeleven overlapping channels are defined spaced 5 MHz apart, spanningfrom 2412 MHz as the center frequency for channel number 1, via channel2 centered at 2417 MHz and 2457 MHz as the center frequency for channelnumber 10, up to channel 11 centered at 2462 MHz. Each channel bandwidthis 22 MHz, symmetrically (+/−11 MHz) located around the centerfrequency. In the transmission path, first the baseband signal (IF) isgenerated based on the data to be transmitted, using 256 QAM (QuadratureAmplitude Modulation) based OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing) modulation technique, resulting a 22 MHz (single channelwide) frequency band signal. The signal is then up converted to the 2.4GHz (RF) and placed in the center frequency of required channel, andtransmitted to the air via the antenna. Similarly, the receiving pathcomprises a received channel in the RF spectrum, down converted to thebaseband (IF) wherein the data is then extracted.

FIG. 1 shows an arrangement 10 according to the prior art including aresidence 19 which may be connected via the Internet 16 to many multipleservers, such as a server 17. In the premises 19 there may be multipleinternal networks, such as home network 14 a connecting the desktopcomputer 18 a and a home device 15 a, and other connected equipment mayas well be connected. Similarly, home network 14 b is shown connectingdesktop computer 18 b and a home device 15 b, and other connectedequipment may as well be connected. A sensor network 12 may further beused, connecting sensor units 13 a, 13 b and 13 c. The sensor network 12may be based on ZigBee protocol or another public or proprietarycommercially accepted protocol, or any suitable protocol now known orbecoming known to those skilled in the art in the present context. Agateway 11 is connected, via suitable ports, to the various networks inthe residence 19, and allows communication between devices in a specificnetwork, between networks in the residence 19, and further providesexternal connection to the Internet 16, typically via a WAN network.While three internal networks 12, 14 a and 14 b are shown in arrangement10, one, two, four, or any number of such internal networks may beequally deployed. Further, the various networks inside the premises 19may be the same, similar or different. For example, the same ordifferent network mediums may be used, such as wired or wirelessnetworks, and the same or different network protocols may be used.Further, each of the networks may be a LAN (Local Area Network), WLAN(Wireless LAN), PAN (Personal Area Network), or WPAN (Wireless PAN). Thegateway 11 is typically a dedicated hardware and software integrateddevice, and is based on a firmware and a processor. A prior-artarchitecture involving moving limited management functions of a homegateway onto network cloud is described in the paper entitled: “HomeNetwork with Cloud Computing for Home Management”, by Katsuya Suzuki andMasahiro Inoue, IEEE 15^(th) International Symposium on ConsumerElectronics, 2011, pages 421-425, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The gateway 11 is knownin the art and is sometimes referred to as Residential Gateway (RG) orHome Gateway, and serves to connect devices in the home (commonly via ahome network) to the Internet or other WAN. Such RG may include abroadband modem (such as DSL or cable modem), a firewall, a router, apacket-switch, and a Wireless Access Point (WAP). The RG is typicallymanageable and support auto-configuration, and may support various typeservices, as well as Quality-of-Service (QoS). All the interconnectionsdescribed herein may be achieved by direct connection of components orby indirect coupling through a suitable connector, interface or otherhardware and/or software components enabling the exchange of signalsbetween the coupled components.

There is a growing widespread use of the Internet for carryingmultimedia, such as video and audio. Various audio services includeInternet-radio stations and VoIP (Voice-over-IP). Video services overthe Internet include video conferencing and IPTV (IP Television). Inmost cases, the multimedia service is a real-time (or near real-time)application, and thus sensitive to delays over the Internet. Inparticular, two-way services such a VoIP or other telephony services andvideo-conferencing are delay sensitive. In some cases, the delaysinduced by the encryption process, as well as the hardware/softwarecosts associated with the encryption, render encryption asnon-practical. Therefore, it is not easy to secure enough capacity ofthe Internet accessible by users to endure real-time communicationapplications such as Internet games, chatting, VoIP, MoIP(Multimedia-over-IP), etc. In this case, there may be a data loss, delayor severe jitter in the course of communication due to the property ofan Internet protocol, thereby causing inappropriate real-time videocommunication. The following chapters of the publication number1-587005-001-3 by Cisco Systems, Inc. (7/99) entitled: “InternetworkingTechnologies Handbook”, relate to multimedia carried over the Internet,and are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein: Chapter 18: “Multiservice Access Technologies” (pages18-1 to 18-10), and Chapter 19: “Voice/Data Integration Technologies”(pages 19-1 to 19-30).

VoIP systems in widespread use today fall into three groups: systemsusing the ITU-T H.323 protocol, systems using the SIP protocol, andsystems that use proprietary protocols. H.323 is a standard forteleconferencing that was developed by the InternationalTelecommunications Union (ITU). It supports full multimedia audio, videoand data transmission between groups of two or more participants, and itis designed to support large networks. H.323 is network-independent: itcan be used over networks using transport protocols other than TCP/IP.H.323 is still a very important protocol, but it has fallen out of usefor consumer VoIP products due to the fact that it is difficult to makeit work through firewalls that are designed to protect computers runningmany different applications. It is a system best suited to largeorganizations that possess the technical skills to overcome theseproblems.

SIP (for Session Initiation Protocol) is an Internet Engineering TaskForce (IETF) standard signaling protocol for teleconferencing,telephony, presence and event notification and instant messaging. Itprovides a mechanism for setting up and managing connections, but notfor transporting the audio or video data. It is probably now the mostwidely used protocol for managing Internet telephony. Like the IETFprotocols, SIP is defined in a number of RFCs, principally RFC 3261. ASIP-based VoIP implementation may send the encoded voice data over thenetwork in a number of ways. Most implementations use Real-timeTransport Protocol (RTP), which is defined in RFC 3550. Both SIP and RTPare implemented on UDP, which, as a connectionless protocol, can causedifficulties with certain types of routers and firewalls. Usable SIPphones therefore also need to use STUN (for Simple Traversal of UDP overNAT), a protocol defined in RFC 3489 that allows a client behind a NATrouter to find out its external IP address and the type of NAT device.

The connection of peripherals and memories to a processor may be via abus. A communication link (such as Ethernet, or any other LAN, PAN orWAN communication link) may also be regarded as bus herein. A bus may bean internal bus (a.k.a. local bus), primarily designed to connect aprocessor or CPU to peripherals inside a computer system enclosure, suchas connecting components over the motherboard or backplane.Alternatively, a bus may be an external bus, primarily intended forconnecting the processor or the motherboard to devices and peripheralsexternal to the computer system enclosure. Some buses may be doubly usedas internal or as external buses. A bus may be of parallel type, whereeach word (address or data) is carried in parallel over multipleelectrical conductors or wires; or alternatively, may be bit-serial,where bits are carried sequentially, such as one bit at a time. A busmay support multiple serial links or lanes, aggregated or bonded forhigher bit-rate transport. Non-limiting examples of internal parallelbuses include ISA (Industry Standard architecture); EISA (Extended ISA);NuBus (IEEE 1196); PATA—Parallel ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment)variants such as IDE, EIDE, ATAPI, SBus (IEEE 1496), VESA Local Bus(VLB), PCI and PC/104 variants (PC/104, PC/104 Plus, and PC/104Express). Non-limiting examples of internal serial buses include PCIe(PCI Express), Serial ATA (SATA), SMBus, and Serial Peripheral Bus (SPI)bus. Non-limiting examples of external parallel buses include HIPPI(HIgh Performance Parallel Interface), IEEE-1284 (‘Centronix’), IEEE-488(a.k.a. GPIB—General Purpose Interface Bus) and PC Card/PCMCIA.Non-limiting examples of external serial buses include USB (UniversalSerial Bus), eSATA and IEEE 1394 (a.k.a. Firewire). Non-limitingexamples of buses that can be internal or external are Futurebus,InfiniBand, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), and SAS (SerialAttached SCSI). The bus medium may be based on electrical conductors,commonly copper wires based cable (may be arranged as twisted-pairs) ora fiber-optic cable. The bus topology may use point-to-point, multi-drop(electrical parallel) and daisy-chain, and may further be based on hubsor switches. A point-to-point bus may be full-duplex, providingsimultaneous, two-way transmission (and sometimes independent) in bothdirections, or alternatively a bus may be half-duplex, where thetransmission can be in either direction, but only in one direction at atime. Buses are further commonly characterized by their throughput (databit-rate), signaling rate, medium length, connectors and medium types,latency, scalability, quality-of-service, devices per connection orchannel, and supported bus-width. A configuration of a bus for aspecific environment may be automatic (hardware or software based, orboth), or may involve user or installer activities such as softwaresettings or jumpers. Recent buses are self-repairable, where spareconnection (net) is provided which is used in the event of malfunctionin a connection. Some buses support hot-plugging (sometimes known as hotswapping), where a connection or a replacement can be made, withoutsignificant interruption to the system or without the need to shut-offany power. A well-known example of this functionality is the UniversalSerial Bus (USB) that allows users to add or remove peripheralcomponents such as a mouse, keyboard, or printer. A bus may be definedto carry a power signal, either in separate dedicated cable (usingseparate and dedicated connectors), or commonly over the same cablecarrying the digital data (using the same connector). Typicallydedicated wires in the cable are used for carrying a low-level DC powerlevel, such as 3.3 VDC, 5 VDC, 12 VDC and any combination thereof. A busmay support master/slave configuration, where one connected node istypically a bus master (e.g., the processor or the processor-side), andother nodes (or node) are bussed slaves. A slave may not connect ortransmit to the bus until given permission by the bus master. A bustiming, strobing, synchronization, or clocking information may becarried as a separate signal (e.g., clock signal) over a dedicatedchannel, such as separate and dedicated wired in a cable, oralternatively may use embedded clocking (a.k.a. self-clocking), wherethe timing information is encoded with the data signal, commonly used inline codes such as Manchester code, where the clock information occursat the transition points. Any bus or connection herein may useproprietary specifications, or preferably be similar to, based on,substantially according to, or fully compliant with, an industrystandard (or any variant thereof) such as those referred to as PCIExpress, SAS, SATA, SCSI, PATA, InfiniBand, USB, PCI, PCI-X, AGP,Thunderbolt, IEEE 1394, FireWire and Fibre Channel.

In consideration of the foregoing, it would be an advancement in the artto provide an improved networking or gateway functionality method andsystem that is simple, secure, cost-effective, reliable, easy to use orsanitize, has a minimum part count, minimum hardware, and/or usesexisting and available components, protocols, programs and applicationsfor providing better security and additional functionalities, andprovides a better user experience.

SUMMARY

Environment control networks are networks of sensors and controllerwhich provide an optimized solution for an environment control. Theenvironment can be a house, agricultural farm, city traffic systems etc.The sensors will provide information on the environmental conditions andevents. The controller will allow automatic control or control by theuser via the Internet. Presently, a dedicated hardware gateway isrequired to control the wireless network in each environment. Thedisclosure describes how the dedicated gateway can be replaced by acloud server, offering much better cost, reliability and level ofservice.

Any communication or connection herein, such as the connection ofperipherals in general, and memories in particular to a processor, mayuse a bus. A communication link (such as Ethernet, or any other LAN, PANor WAN communication links may also be regarded as buses herein. A busmay be an internal bus, an external bus or both. A bus may be a parallelor a bit-serial bus. A bus may be based on a single or on multipleserial links or lanes. The bus medium may electrical conductors basedsuch as wires or cables, or may be based on a fiber-optic cable. The bustopology may use point-to-point, multi-drop (electrical parallel) anddaisy-chain, and may be based on hubs or switches. A point-to-point busmay be full-duplex, or half-duplex. Further, a bus may use proprietaryspecifications, or may be based on, similar to, substantially or fullycompliant to an industry standard (or any variant thereof), and may behot-pluggable. A bus may be defined to carry only digital data signals,or may also defined to carry a power signal (commonly DC voltages),either in separated and dedicated cables and connectors, or may carrythe power and digital data together over the same cable. A bus maysupport master/slave configuration. A bus may carry a separated anddedicated timing signal or may use self-clocking line-code.

A sensor unit may include one or more sensors, each providing anelectrical output signal (such as voltage or current), or changing acharacteristic (such as resistance or impedance) in response to ameasured or detected phenomenon. The sensors may be identical, similaror different from each other, and may measure or detect the same ordifferent phenomena. Two or more sensors may be connected in series orin parallel. In the case of a changing characteristic sensor or in thecase of an active sensor, the unit may include an excitation ormeasuring circuits (such as a bridge) to generate the sensor electricalsignal. The sensor output signal may be conditioned by a signalconditioning circuit. The signal conditioner may involve time,frequency, or magnitude related manipulations. The signal conditionermay be linear or non-linear, and may include an operation or aninstrument amplifier, a multiplexer, a frequency converter, afrequency-to-voltage converter, a voltage-to-frequency converter, acurrent-to-voltage converter, a current loop converter, a chargeconverter, an attenuator, a sample-and-hold circuit, a peak-detector, avoltage or current limiter, a delay line or circuit, a level translator,a galvanic isolator, an impedance transformer, a linearization circuit,a calibrator, a passive or active (or adaptive) filter, an integrator, adeviator, an equalizer, a spectrum analyzer, a compressor or ade-compressor, a coder (or decoder), a modulator (or demodulator), apattern recognizer, a smoother, a noise remover, an average or RMScircuit, or any combination thereof. In the case of analog sensor, ananalog to digital (A/D) converter may be used to convert the conditionedsensor output signal to a digital sensor data. The unit may include acomputer for controlling and managing the unit operation, processing thedigital sensor data and handling the unit communication. The unit mayinclude a modem or transceiver coupled to a network port (such as aconnector or antenna), for interfacing and communicating over a network.

The sensor may be a CCD or CMOS based image sensor, for capturing stillor video images. The image capturing hardware integrated with the unitmay contain a photographic lens (through a lens opening) focusing therequired image onto an image sensor. The image may be converted into adigital format by an image sensor AFE (Analog Front End) and an imageprocessor. An image or video compressor for compression of the imageinformation may be used for reducing the memory size and reducing thedata rate required for the transmission over the communication medium.Similarly, the sensor may be a voice sensor such as a microphone, andmay similarly include a voice processor or a voice compressor (or both).The image or voice compression may be standard or proprietary, may bebased on intraframe or interframe compression, and may be lossy ornon-lossy compression.

An actuator unit may include one or more actuators, each affecting orgenerating a physical phenomenon in response to an electrical command,which can be an electrical signal (such as voltage or current), or bychanging a characteristic (such as resistance or impedance) of a device.The actuators may be identical, similar or different from each other,and may affect or generate the same or different phenomena. Two or moreactuators may be connected in series or in parallel. The actuatorcommand signal may be conditioned by a signal conditioning circuit. Thesignal conditioner may involve time, frequency, or magnitude relatedmanipulations. The signal conditioner may be linear or non-linear, andmay include an amplifier, a voltage or current limiter, an attenuator, adelay line or circuit, a level translator, a galvanic isolator, animpedance transformer, a linearization circuit, a calibrator, a passiveor active (or adaptive) filter, an integrator, a deviator, an equalizer,a spectrum analyzer, a compressor or a de-compressor, a coder (ordecoder), a modulator (or demodulator), a pattern recognizer, asmoother, a noise remover, an average or RMS circuit, or any combinationthereof. In the case of analog actuator, a digital to analog (D/A)converter may be used to convert the digital command data to analogsignals for controlling the actuators. The unit may include a computerfor controlling and managing the unit operation, processing theactuators commands and handling the unit communication. The unit mayinclude a modem or transceiver coupled to a communication port (such asa connector or antenna), for interfacing and communicating over anetwork.

A sensor/actuator unit is a device integrating a part or whole of asensor unit with part or whole of an actuator unit. For a non-limitingexample, such hardware integration may relate to housing in the sameenclosure, sharing the same connector (power, communication or any otherconnector), sharing the same power source or power supply, sharing PCBor other mechanical support, sharing the same processor or computer,sharing the same modem or transceiver, or sharing the same communicationport. A sensor actuator unit may include one or more sensors, each withits associated signal conditioner and A/D (if required), and one or moreactuators, each with its associated signal conditioner and D/A, ifrequired. A sensor unit, an actuator unit, and a sensor/actuator unitare collectively referred to as ‘field units’.

A field unit may be powered in part or in whole from AC or DC powersource. A local powering scheme may be used, where the power source maybe integrated with field unit, such as within the same enclosure, or aremote powering scheme may be used, where the power source may beexternal to the field unit enclosure, and connected via a powerconnector in the field unit. The power source may power feed a powersupply, which supplies the DC (and/or AC) voltages required by the fieldunits sensors. A sensor may be power fed from the same power source orpower supply powering the field unit circuits, or may use a dedicatedpower source or power supply, which may be internal or external to thefield unit enclosure. An actuator may be power fed from the same powersource or power supply powering the field unit circuits, or may use adedicated power source or power supply, which may be internal orexternal to the field unit enclosure. The same element may serve as botha power source and as a sensor, such as solar cell, a Peltier-effectbased device, and motion-based generators.

The power source may be a primary or rechargeable battery, and the fieldunit may include a battery compartment for holding the battery, and aconnector for connecting to a battery charger. Alternatively or inaddition, the power source may be based internal electrical powergenerator, such as a solar or photovoltaic cell, or may use anelectromechanical generator (e.g., a dynamo or an alternator) harvestingkinetic energy, such as from the field unit motion. The power source maybe the mains AC power, and the power supply may include AC/DC converter.The same element may double as a sensor and as a power source. Forexample, a solar or photovoltaic cell may be used as a light sensor,simultaneously with serving as a power source, and an electromechanicalgenerator, for example based on harvesting mechanical vibrations energy,may at the same time be used to measure the mechanical vibrations (e.g.,frequency or magnitude).

A field unit may be remotely powered, in part or in whole, from a powersource via a cable simultaneously carrying another signal. For example,the same cable may carry digital data used for communication (e.g., witha router, a gateway, or another field unit), and the same connector maybe used for digital data communication and for receiving power from apower source. The powering via a connection (such as a connector) mayuse a dedicated cable, where the cable may have power-dedicated wires orconductors, or by using power and data carried over the same wires suchas by using FDM or phantom scheme. In the case of using FDM, the fieldunit may include circuits for splitting the power signal and the datasignal, and may include filters, transformers or a center-taptransformer. A field unit (or any part thereof) may be used to supplypower from a power source to a device connected to it, such as a sensor,an actuator, a router, a gateway or another field unit. Such poweringmay be via a connection that use a dedicated cable, or by using the samecable and having power-dedicated wires or conductors, or by using powerand data carried over the same wires such as by using FDM or phantomscheme. A powering scheme may be based on the PoE standard.

A field unit (sensor, actuator, or sensor/actuator unit) may beintegrated, partially or in whole, with the router or gateway. A router,a gateway, a sensor, an actuator, or a field unit may be integrated, inwhole or in part, in an electrically powered home, commercial, orindustrial appliance. The home appliance may be major or smallappliance, and its main function may be food storage or preparation,cleaning (such as clothes cleaning), or temperature control(environmental, food or water) such as heating or cooling. Examples ofappliances are water heaters, HVAC systems, air conditioner, heaters,washing machines, clothes dryers, vacuum cleaner, microwave oven,electric mixers, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, freezers, foodprocessors, dishwashers, food blenders, beverage makers such ascoffeemakers and iced-tea makers, answering machines, telephone sets,home cinema systems, HiFi systems, CD and DVD players, inductioncookers, electric furnaces, trash compactors, and dehumidifiers. Thefield unit may consist of, or be integrated with, a battery-operatedportable electronic device such as a notebook/laptop computer, a mediaplayer (e.g., MP3 based or video player), a cellular phone, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), an image processing device (e.g., a digitalcamera or a video recorder), and/or any other handheld computingdevices, or a combination of any of these devices. Alternatively or inaddition, a router, a gateway, a sensor, an actuator, or a field unitmay be integrated, in whole or in part, in furniture or clothes.

In one example, a sensor, an actuator, one or more field units, or therouter may be integrated with, or may be part of, an outlet or a plug-inmodule. The outlet may be telephone, LAN (such as Structured Wiringbased on Category 5, 6 or 7 wiring), AC power or CATV outlet. The fieldunit or the router may communicate over the in-wall wiring connected tothe outlet, such as telephone, AC power, LAN or CATV wiring. The outletassociated sensor, actuator, one or more field units, or router may bepowered from a power signal carried over the in-wall wiring, and maycommunicate using the in-wall wiring as a network medium.

The router (or gateway) may include a communication port and a modem (ortransceiver) for connecting to the control server via the Internet. Therouter may include one or more communication ports, each associated witha modem (or transceiver), for communicating with field units in thebuilding (or vehicle). A routing core may be connected to all modems (ortransceivers) for routing the digital data therebetween.

In one aspect, a control server may be used as part of systemimplementing a control loop. The system may include one or multiplefield units in a building or in a vehicle. One or more networks in thebuilding (or vehicle) may be used for the communication between two ormore field units, and for allowing the field units to communicate with arouter (which may include some, or whole of, gateway functionalities) inthe building (or vehicle). Each of the networks may be a wireless orwired network, and may be a control network, a home network, a PAN, aWPAN, a LAN, a WLAN, or a WAN. The router (or gateway) may communicatewith a data units (such as PC) over a network in the building (orvehicle). The router (or the gateway) may serve as an intermediarydevice in a control loop, and may communicate with the control serverover the Internet via an ISP using a network which may be wireless orwired network, which may be a PAN, a WPAN, a LAN, a WLAN, a WAN, or acellular network.

The system may implement a control loop, which may be arranged tocontrol one or more physical phenomena, such as regulating the phenomenato or at a setpoint (target value) or any other reference value. One ormore field units may transmit sensor (or sensors) data to a controllervia one or more networks. The controller functionality may receive thesensors data, may condition or process the received sensors data, andaccording to a control logic determines the actuator (or actuators)commands. The actuators commands may be sent via one or more networks tothe target actuators in the field units. The setpoint may be fixed, setby a user, or may be time dependent. The setpoint may be dependent uponan additional sensor that is responsive to another phenomenon distinctfrom the controlled phenomenon, and the additional sensor is part of, oris coupled to, the system.

The controller may implement open loop (such as feed-forward control).Alternatively or in addition, a closed loop may be implemented, whichmay be based on proportional-only, PI, Bistable, hysteretic, PID,bang-bang, or fuzzy control based on fuzzy logic. The controller may usesequential control, may be a PLC, or may include PLC functionalities.The controller functionalities may be implemented, in part or in full,in the control server, in the router, in a computer in the building (orvehicle), or divided in any combination thereof.

The system operation or the control logic may involve randomness, andmay be based on a random number generated by a random number generator.The random number generator may be based on a physical process (such asthermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectriceffect or other quantum phenomena), or on an algorithm for generatingpseudo-random numbers, and may be integrated (in part or entirely) aspart of one or more of the field units, the router or gateway, or in thecontrol server.

In one aspect, one of the sensors is an image sensor, for capturing animage (still or video). The controller responds to characteristics orevents extracted by image processing of the captured image or video. Forexample, the image processing may be face detection, face recognition,gesture recognition, compression or de-compression, or motion sensing.The image processing functionality may be in the field unit, in therouter (or gateway), in the control server, in a computer in thebuilding (or vehicle), or any combination thereof. In another aspect,one of the sensors may be a microphone for capturing a human voice. Thecontroller responds to characteristics or events extracted by voiceprocessing of the captured audio. The voice processing functionality mayinclude compression or de-compression, and may be in the field unit, inthe router (or gateway), in the control server, in a computer in thebuilding (or vehicle), or any combination thereof.

Any element capable of measuring or responding to a physical phenomenonmay be used as a sensor. An appropriate sensor may be adapted for aspecific physical phenomenon, such as a sensor responsive totemperature, humidity, pressure, audio, vibration, light, motion, sound,proximity, flow rate, electrical voltage, and electrical current.

A sensor may be an analog sensor having an analog signal output such asanalog voltage or current, or may have continuously variable impedance.Alternatively on in addition, a sensor may have a digital signal output.A sensor may serve as a detector, notifying only the presence of aphenomenon, such as by a switch, and may use a fixed or settablethreshold level. A sensor may measure time-dependent or space-dependentparameters of a phenomenon. A sensor may measure time-dependencies or aphenomenon such as the rate of change, time-integrated or time-average,duty-cycle, frequency or time period between events. A sensor may be apassive sensor, or an active sensor requiring an external source ofexcitation. The sensor may be semiconductor-based, and may be based onMEMS technology.

A sensor may measure the amount of a property or of a physical quantityor the magnitude relating to a physical phenomenon, body or substance.Alternatively or in addition, a sensor may be used to measure the timederivative thereof, such as the rate of change of the amount, thequantity or the magnitude. In the case of space related quantity ormagnitude, a sensor may measure the linear density, surface density, orvolume density, relating to the amount of property per volume.Alternatively or in addition, a sensor may measure the flux (or flow) ofa property through a cross-section or surface boundary, the fluxdensity, or the current. In the case of a scalar field, a sensor maymeasure the quantity gradient. A sensor may measure the amount ofproperty per unit mass or per mole of substance. A single sensor may beused to measure two or more phenomena.

The sensor may be thermoelectric sensor, for measuring, sensing ordetecting the temperature (or the temperature gradient) of an object,which may be solid, liquid or gas. Such sensor may be a thermistor(either PTC or NTC), a thermocouple, a quartz thermometer, or an RTD.The sensor may be based on a Geiger counter for detecting and measuringradioactivity or any other nuclear radiation. Light, photons, or otheroptical phenomena may be measured or detected by a photosensor orphotodetector, used for measuring the intensity of visible or invisiblelight (such as infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray or gamma rays). Aphotosensor may be based on the photoelectric or the photovoltaiceffect, such as a photodiode, a phototransistor, solar cell or aphotomultiplier tube. A photosensor may be a photoresistor based onphotoconductivity, or a CCD where a charge is affected by the light. Thesensor may be an electrochemical sensor used to measure, sense or detecta matter structure, properties, composition, and reactions, such as pHmeters, gas detector, or gas sensor. Using semiconductors, oxidation,catalytic, infrared or other sensing or detection mechanisms, gasdetector may be used to detect the presence of a gas (or gases) such ashydrogen, oxygen or CO. The sensor may be a smoke detector for detectingsmoke or fire, typically by an optical detection (photoelectric) or by aphysical process (ionization).

The sensor may be a physiological sensor for measuring, sensing ordetecting parameters of a live body, such as animal or human body. Sucha sensor may involve measuring of body electrical signals such as an EEGor ECG sensor, a gas saturation sensor such as oxygen saturation sensor,mechanical or physical parameter sensors such as a blood pressure meter.A sensor (or sensors) may be external to the sensed body, implantedinside the body, or may be wearable. The sensor may be an electracousticsensor for measuring, sensing or detecting sound, such as a microphone.Typically microphones are based on converting audible or inaudible (orboth) incident sound to an electrical signal by measuring the vibrationof a diaphragm or a ribbon. The microphone may be a condensermicrophone, an electret microphone, a dynamic microphone, a ribbonmicrophone, a carbon microphone, or a piezoelectric microphone.

A sensor may be an image sensor for providing digital camerafunctionality, allowing an image (either as still images or as a video)to be captured, stored, manipulated and displayed. The image capturinghardware integrated with the sensor unit may contain a photographic lens(through a lens opening) focusing the required image onto aphotosensitive image sensor array disposed approximately at an imagefocal point plane of the optical lens, for capturing the image andproducing electronic image information representing the image. The imagesensor may be based on Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) or ComplementaryMetal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS). The image may be converted into adigital format by an image sensor AFE (Analog Front End) and an imageprocessor, commonly including an analog to digital (A/D) convertercoupled to the image sensor for generating a digital data representationof the image. The unit may contain a video compressor, coupled betweenthe analog to digital (A/D) converter and the transmitter forcompressing the digital data video before transmission to thecommunication medium. The compressor may be used for lossy or non-lossycompression of the image information, for reducing the memory size andreducing the data rate required for the transmission over thecommunication medium. The compression may be based on a standardcompression algorithm such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)and MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-TH.264, or ITU-T CCIR 601.

The digital data video signal carrying a digital data video according toa digital video format, and a transmitter coupled between the port andthe image processor for transmitting the digital data video signal tothe communication medium. The digital video format may be based on oneout of: TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), RAW format, AVI (Audio VideoInterleaved), DV, MOV, WMV, MP4, DCF (Design Rule for Camera Format),ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, ITU-T CCIR 601, ASF, Exif(Exchangeable Image File Format), and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)standards.

A sensor may be an electrical sensor used to measure electricalquantities or electrical properties. The electrical sensor may beconductively connected to the measured element. Alternatively or inaddition, the electrical sensor may use non-conductive or non-contactcoupling to the measured element, such as measuring a phenomenonassociated with the measured quantity or property. The electric sensormay be a current sensor or an ampmeter (a.k.a. ampermeter) for measuringDC or AC (or any other waveform) electric current passing through aconductor or wire. The current sensor may be connected such that part orentire of the measured electric current may be passing through theampermeter, such as a galvanometer or a hot-wire ampermeter. Anampermeter may be a current clamp or current probe, and may use the‘Hall effect’ or a current transformer concept for non-contact ornon-conductive current measurement. The electrical sensor may be avoltmeter for measuring the DC or AC (or any other waveform) voltage, orany potential difference between two points. The voltmeter may be basedon the current passing a resistor using the Ohm's law, may be based on apotentiometer, or may be based on a bridge circuit.

A sensor may be a wattmeter measuring the magnitude of the active AC orDC power (or the supply rate of electrical energy). The wattmeter may bea bolometer, used for measuring the power of incident electromagneticradiation via the heating of a material with a temperature-dependentelectrical resistance. A sensor may be an electricity AC (single ormulti-phase) or DC type meter (or electrical energy meter), thatmeasures the amount of electrical energy consumed by a load. Theelectricity meter may be based on a wattmeter which accumulate oraverage the readings, may be based on induction, or may be based onmultiplying measured voltage and current.

An electrical sensor may be an ohmmeter for measuring the electricalresistance (or conductance), and may be a megohmmeter or a microohmeter.The ohmmeter may use the Ohm's law to derive the resistance from voltageand current measurements, or may use a bridge such as a Wheatstonebridge. A sensor may be a capacitance meter for measuring capacitance. Asensor may be an inductance meter for measuring inductance. A sensor maybe an impedance meter for measuring an impedance of a device or acircuit. A sensor may be an LCR meter, used to measure inductance (L),capacitance (C), and resistance (R). A meter may use sourcing a DC or anAC voltage, and use the ratio of the measured voltage and current (andtheir phase difference) through the tested device according to Ohm's lawto calculate the resistance, the capacitance, the inductance, or theimpedance (R=V/I). Alternatively or in addition, a meter may use abridge circuit (such as Wheatstone bridge), where variable calibratedelements are adjusted to detect a null. The measurement may be using DC,using a single frequency or over a range of frequencies.

The sensor may be a Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR) used to characterizeand locate faults in transmission-lines such as conductive or metalliclines, based on checking the reflection of a transmitted short rise timepulse. Similarly, an optical TDR may be used to test optical fibercables.

A sensor may be a scalar or a vector magnetometer for measuring an H orB magnetic fields. The magnetometer may be based on a Hall effectsensor, magneto-diode, magneto-transistor, AMR magnetometer, GMRmagnetometer, magnetic tunnel junction magnetometer, magneto-opticalsensor, Lorentz force based MEMS sensor, Electron Tunneling based MEMSsensor, MEMS compass, Nuclear precession magnetic field sensor (a.k.a.Nuclear Magnetic Resonance—NMR), optically pumped magnetic field sensor,fluxgate magnetometer, search coil magnetic field sensor, orSuperconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer.

A sensor may be a strain gauge, used to measure the strain, or any otherdeformation, of an object. The sensor may be based on deforming ametallic foil, semiconductor strain gauge (such as piezoresistors),measuring the strain along an optical fiber, capacitive strain gauge,and vibrating or resonating of a tensioned wire. A sensor may be atactile sensor, being sensitive to force or pressure, or being sensitiveto a touch by an object, typically a human touch. A tactile sensor maybe based on a conductive rubber, a lead zirconate titanate (PZT)material, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) material, a metalliccapacitive element, or any combination thereof. A tactile sensor may bea tactile switch, which may be based on the human body conductance,using measurement of conductance or capacitance.

A sensor may be a piezoelectric sensor, where the piezoelectric effectis used to measure pressure, acceleration, strain or force, and may usetransverse, longitudinal, or shear effect mode. A thin membrane may beused to transfer and measure pressure, while mass may be used foracceleration measurement. A piezoelectric sensor element material may bea piezoelectric ceramics (such as PZT ceramic) or a single crystalmaterial. A single crystal material may be gallium phosphate, quartz,tourmaline, or Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate (PMN-PT).

A sensor may be a motion sensor, and may include one or moreaccelerometers, which measures the absolute acceleration or theacceleration relative to freefall. The accelerometer may bepiezoelectric, piezoresistive, capacitive, MEMS or electromechanicalswitch accelerometer, measuring the magnitude and the direction thedevice acceleration in a single-axis, 2-axis or 3-axis(omnidirectional). Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor maybe based on electrical tilt and vibration switch or any otherelectromechanical switch.

A sensor may be a force sensor, a load cell, or a force gauge (a.k.a.force gage), used to measure a force magnitude and/or direction, and maybe based on a spring extension, a strain gauge deformation, apiezoelectric effect, or a vibrating wire. A sensor may be a driving orpassive dynamometer, used to measure torque or any moment of force.

A sensor may be a pressure sensor (a.k.a. pressure transducer orpressure transmitter/sender) for measuring a pressure of gases orliquids, and for indirectly measuring other parameters such as fluid/gasflow, speed, water-level, and altitude. A pressure sensor may be apressure switch. A pressure sensor may be an absolute pressure sensor, agauge pressure sensor, a vacuum pressure sensor, a differential pressuresensor, or a sealed pressure sensor. The changes in pressure relative toaltitude may be used for an altimeter, and the Venturi effect may beused to measure flow by a pressure sensor. Similarly, the depth of asubmerged body or the fluid level on contents in a tank may be measuredby a pressure sensor.

A pressure sensor may be of a force collector type, where a forcecollector (such a diaphragm, piston, bourdon tube, or bellows) is usedto measure strain (or deflection) due to applied force (pressure) overan area. Such sensor may be a based on the piezoelectric effect (apiezoresistive strain gauge), may be of a capacitive or of anelectromagnetic type. A pressure sensor may be based on a potentiometer,or may be based on using the changes in resonant frequency or thethermal conductivity of a gas, or may use the changes in the flow ofcharged gas particles (ions).

A sensor may be a position sensor for measuring linear or angularposition (or motion). A position sensor may be an absolute positionsensor, or may be a displacement (relative or incremental) sensor,measuring a relative position, and may be an electromechanical sensor. Aposition sensor may be mechanically attached to the measured object, oralternatively may use a non-contact measurement.

A position sensor may be an angular position sensor, for measuringinvolving an angular position (or the rotation or motion) of a shaft, anaxle, or a disk. Absolute angular position sensor output indicates thecurrent position (angle) of the shaft, while incremental or displacementsensor provides information about the change, the angular speed or themotion of the shaft. An angular position sensor may be of optical type,using reflective or interruption schemes, or may be of magnetic type,such as based on variable-reluctance (VR), Eddy-current killedoscillator (ECKO), Wiegand sensing, or Hall-effect sensing, or may bebased on a rotary potentiometer. An angular position sensor may betransformer based such as a RVDT, a resolver or a synchro. An angularposition sensor may be based on an absolute or incremental rotaryencoder, and may be a mechanical or optical rotary encoder, using binaryor gray encoding schemes.

A sensor may be an angular rate sensor, used to measure the angularrate, or the rotation speed, of a shaft, an axle or a disc, and may beelectromechanical (such as centrifugal switch), MEMS based, Laser based(such as Ring Laser Gyroscope—RLG), or a gyroscope (such as fiber-opticgyro) based. Some gyroscopes use the measurement of the Coriolisacceleration to determine the angular rate. An angular rate sensor maybe a tachometer, which may be based on measuring the centrifugal force,or based on optical, electric, or magnetic sensing a slotted disk.

A position sensor may be a linear position sensor, for measuring alinear displacement or position typically in a straight line, and mayuse a transformer principle such as such as LVDT, or may be based on aresistive element such as linear potentiometer. A linear position sensormay be an incremental or absolute linear encoder, and may employoptical, magnetic, capacitive, inductive, or eddy-current principles.

A sensor may be a mechanical or electrical motion detector (or anoccupancy sensor), for discrete (on/off) or magnitude-based motiondetection. A motion detector may be based on sound (acoustic sensors),opacity (optical and infrared sensors and video image processors),geomagnetism (magnetic sensors, magnetometers), reflection oftransmitted energy (infrared laser radar, ultrasonic sensors, andmicrowave radar sensors), electromagnetic induction (inductive-loopdetectors), or vibration (triboelectric, seismic, and inertia-switchsensors). Acoustic sensors may use electric effect, inductive coupling,capacitive coupling, triboelectric effect, piezoelectric effect, fiberoptic transmission, or radar intrusion sensing. An occupancy sensor istypically a motion detector that may be integrated with hardware orsoftware-based timing device.

A motion sensor may be a mechanically-actuated switch or trigger, or mayuse passive or active electronic sensors, such as passive infraredsensors, ultrasonic sensors, microwave sensor or tomographic detector.Alternatively or in addition, motion can be electronically identifiedusing infrared (PIR) or laser optical detection or acoustical detection,or may use a combination of the technologies disclosed herein.

A sensor may be a humidity sensor, such as a hygrometer or a humidistat,and may respond to an absolute, relative, or specific humidity. Themeasurement may be based on optically detecting condensation, or may bebased on changing the capacitance, resistance, or thermal conductivityof materials subjected to the measured humidity.

A sensor may be a clinometer for measuring angle (such as pitch or roll)of an object, typically with respect to a plane such as the earth groundplane. A clinometer may be based on an accelerometer, a pendulum, or ona gas bubble in liquid, or may be a tilt switch such as a mercury tiltswitch for detecting inclination or declination with respect to adetermined tilt angle.

A sensor may be a gas or liquid flow sensor, for measuring thevolumetric or mass flow rate via a defined area or a surface. A liquidflow sensor typically involves measuring the flow in a pipe or in anopen conduit. A flow measurement may be based on a mechanical flowmeter, such as a turbine flow meter, a Woltmann meter, a single jetmeter, or a paddle wheel meter. Pressure-based meters may be based onmeasuring a pressure or a pressure differential based on Bernoulli'sprinciple, such as a Venturi meter. The sensor may be an optical flowmeter or be based on the Doppler-effect.

A flow sensor may be an air flow sensor, for measuring the air or gasflow, such as through a surface (e.g., through a tube) or a volume, byactually measuring the air volume passing, or by measuring the actualspeed or air flow. In some cases, a pressure, typically differentialpressure, may be measured as an indicator for the air flow measurements.An anemometer is an air flow sensor primarily for measuring wind speed,and may be cup anemometer, a windmill anemometer, hot-wire anemometersuch as CCA (Constant-Current Anemometer), CVA (Constant-VoltageAnemometer) and CTA (Constant-Temperature Anemometer). Sonic anemometersuse ultrasonic sound waves to measure wind velocity. Air flow may bemeasured by a pressure anemometer that may be a plate or tube class.

A sensor may be a gyroscope, for measuring orientation in space, such asthe conventional mechanical type, a MEMS gyroscope, a piezoelectricgyroscope, a FOG, or a VSG type. A sensor may be a nanosensor, asolid-state, or an ultrasonic based sensor. A sensor may be aneddy-current sensor, where the measurement may be based on producingand/or measuring eddy-currents. Sensor may be a proximity sensor, suchas metal detector. A sensor may be a bulk or surface acoustic sensor, ormay be an atmospheric sensor.

In one example, multiple sensors may be used arranged as a sensor array(such as linear sensor array), for improving the sensitivity, accuracy,resolution, and other parameters of the sensed phenomenon. The sensorarray may be directional, and better measure the parameters of theimpinging signal to the array, such as the number, magnitudes,frequencies, Direction-Of-Arrival (DOA), distances, and speeds of thesignals. The processing of the entire sensor array outputs, such as toobtain a single measurement or a single parameter, may be performed by adedicated processor, which may be part of the sensor array assembly, maybe performed in the processor of the field unit, may be performed by theprocessor in the router, may be performed as part of the controllerfunctionality (e.g., in the control server), or any combination thereof.The same component may serve both as a sensor and as actuator, such asduring different times, and may be associated with the same or differentphenomenon. A sensor operation may be based on an external or integralmechanism for generating a stimulus or an excitation to generateinfluence or create a phenomenon. The mechanism may be controlled as anactuator or as part of the sensor.

Any element designed for or capable of directly or indirectly affecting,changing, producing, or creating a physical phenomenon under an electricsignal control may be used as an actuator. An appropriate actuator maybe adapted for a specific physical phenomenon, such as an actuatorresponsive to temperature, humidity, pressure, audio, vibration, light,motion, sound, proximity, flow rate, electrical voltage, and electricalcurrent. Typically a sensor may be used to measure a phenomenon affectedby an actuator.

An actuator may be an analog actuator having an analog signal input suchas analog voltage or current, or may have continuously variableimpedance. Alternatively on in addition, an actuator may have a digitalsignal input. An actuator may affect time-dependent or space-dependentparameters of a phenomenon. An actuator may affect time-dependencies ora phenomenon such as the rate of change, time-integrated ortime-average, duty-cycle, frequency or time period between events. Theactuator may be semiconductor-based, and may be based on MEMStechnology.

An actuator may affect the amount of a property or of a physicalquantity or the magnitude relating to a physical phenomenon, body orsubstance. Alternatively or in addition, an actuator may be used toaffect the time derivative thereof, such as the rate of change of theamount, the quantity or the magnitude. In the case of space relatedquantity or magnitude, an actuator may affect the linear density,surface density, or volume density, relating to the amount of propertyper volume. Alternatively or in addition, an actuator may affect theflux (or flow) of a property through a cross-section or surfaceboundary, the flux density, or the current. In the case of a scalarfield, an actuator may affect the quantity gradient. An actuator mayaffect the amount of property per unit mass or per mole of substance. Asingle actuator may be used to measure two or more phenomena.

An actuator may be a light source used to emit light by convertingelectrical energy into light, and where the luminous intensity may befixed or may be controlled, commonly for illumination or indicationpurposes. An actuator may be used to activate or control the lightemitted by a light source, being based on converting electrical energyor another energy to a light. The light emitted may be a visible light,or invisible light such as infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray or gamma rays. Ashade, reflector, enclosing globe, housing, lens, and other accessoriesmay be used, typically as part of a light fixture, in order to controlthe illumination intensity, shape or direction. Electrical sources ofillumination commonly use a gas, a plasma (such as in arc andfluorescent lamps), an electrical filament, or Solid-State Lighting(SSL), where semiconductors are used. An SSL may be a Light-EmittingDiode (LED), an Organic LED (OLED), Polymer LED (PLED), or a laserdiode.

A light source may consists of, or comprises, a lamp which may be an arclamp, a fluorescent lamp, a gas-discharge lamp (such as a fluorescentlamp), or an incandescent light (such as a halogen lamp). An arc lamp isthe general term for a class of lamps that produce light by an electricarc voltaic arc. Such a lamp consists of two electrodes, first made fromcarbon but typically made today of tungsten, which are separated by anoble gas.

A motion actuator may be a rotary actuator that produces a rotary motionor torque, commonly to a shaft or axle. The motion produced by a rotarymotion actuator may be either continuous rotation, such as in commonelectric motors, or movement to a fixed angular position as for servosand stepper motors. A motion actuator may be a linear actuator thatcreates motion in a straight line. A linear actuator may be based on anintrinsically rotary actuator, by converting from a rotary motioncreated by a rotary actuator, using a screw, a wheel and axle, or a cam.A screw actuator may be a leadscrew, a screw jack, a ball screw orroller screw. A wheel-and-axle actuator operates on the principle of thewheel and axle, and may be hoist, winch, rack and pinion, chain drive,belt drive, rigid chain, or rigid belt actuator. Similarly, a rotaryactuator may be based on an intrinsically linear actuator, by convertingfrom a linear motion to a rotary motion, using the above or othermechanisms. Motion actuators may include a wide variety of mechanicalelements and/or prime movers to change the nature of the motion such asprovided by the actuating/transducing elements, such as levers, ramps,screws, cams, crankshafts, gears, pulleys, constant-velocity joints, orratchets. A motion actuator may be part of a servomotor system.

A motion actuator may be a pneumatic actuator that converts compressedair into rotary or linear motion, and may comprises a piston, acylinder, valves or ports. Motion actuators are commonly controlled byan input pressure to a control valve, and may be based on moving apiston in a cylinder. A motion actuator may a hydraulic actuator using apressure of the liquid in a hydraulic cylinder to provide force ormotion. A hydraulic actuator may be a hydraulic pump, such as a vanepump, a gear pump, or a piston pump. A motion actuator may be anelectric actuator where electrical energy may be converted into motion,such as an electric motor. A motion actuator may be a vacuum actuatorproducing a motion based on vacuum pressure.

An electric motor may be a DC motor, which may be a brushed, brushless,or uncommutated type. An electric motor may be a stepper motor, and maybe a Permanent Magnet (PM) motor, a Variable reluctance (VR) motor, or ahybrid synchronous stepper. An electric motor may be an AC motor, whichmay be an induction motor, a synchronous motor, or an eddy currentmotors. An AC motor may be a two-phase AC servo motor, a three-phase ACsynchronous motor, or a single-phase AC induction motor, such as asplit-phase motor, a capacitor start motor, or a Permanent-SplitCapacitor (PSC) motor. Alternatively or in addition, an electric motormay be an electrostatic motor, and may be MEMS based.

A rotary actuator may be a fluid power actuator, and a linear actuatormay be a linear hydraulic actuator or a pneumatic actuator. A linearactuator may be a piezoelectric actuator, based on the piezoelectriceffect, may be a wax motor, or may be a linear electrical motor, whichmay be a DC brush, a DC brushless, a stepper, or an induction motortype. A linear actuator may be a telescoping linear actuator. A linearactuator may be a linear electric motor, such as a linear inductionmotor (LIM), or a Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM).

A motion actuator may be a linear or rotary piezoelectric motor based onacoustic or ultrasonic vibrations. A piezoelectric motor may usepiezoelectric ceramics such as Inchworm or PiezoWalk motors, may useSurface Acoustic Waves (SAW) to generate the linear or the rotarymotion, or may be a Squiggle motor. Alternatively or in addition, anelectric motor may be an ultrasonic motor. A linear actuator may be amicro- or nanometer comb-drive capacitive actuator. Alternatively or inaddition, a motion actuator may be a Dielectric or Ionic basedElectroactive Polymers (EAPs) actuator. A motion actuator may also be asolenoid, thermal bimorph, or a piezoelectric unimorph actuator.

An actuator may be a pump, typically used to move (or compress) fluidsor liquids, gasses, or slurries, commonly by pressure or suctionactions, and the activating mechanism is often reciprocating or rotary.A pump may be a direct lift, impulse, displacement, valveless, velocity,centrifugal, vacuum pump, or gravity pump. A pump may be a positivedisplacement pump, such as a rotary-type positive displacement type suchas internal gear, screw, shuttle block, flexible vane or sliding vane,circumferential piston, helical twisted roots or liquid ring vacuumpumps, a reciprocating-type positive displacement type, such as pistonor diaphragm pumps, and a linear-type positive displacement type, suchas rope pumps and chain pumps, a rotary lobe pump, a progressive cavitypump, a rotary gear pump, a piston pump, a diaphragm pump, a screw pump,a gear pump, a hydraulic pump, and a vane pump. A rotary positivedisplacement pumps may be a gear pump, a screw pump, or a rotary vanepumps. Reciprocating positive displacement pumps may be plunger pumpstype, diaphragm pumps type, diaphragm valves type, or radial pistonpumps type.

A pump may be an impulse pump such as hydraulic ram pumps type, pulserpumps type, or airlift pumps type. A pump may be a rotodynamic pump suchas a velocity pump or a centrifugal pump. A centrifugal pump may be aradial flow pump type, an axial flow pump type, or a mixed flow pump.

An actuator may be an electrochemical or chemical actuator, used toproduce, change, or otherwise affect a matter structure, properties,composition, process, or reactions, such as oxidation/reduction or anelectrolysis process.

An actuator may be a sounder which converts electrical energy to soundwaves transmitted through the air, an elastic solid material, or aliquid, usually by means of a vibrating or moving ribbon or diaphragm.The sound may be audible or inaudible (or both), and may beomnidirectional, unidirectional, bidirectional, or provide otherdirectionality or polar patterns. A sounder may be an electromagneticloudspeaker, a piezoelectric speaker, an electrostatic loudspeaker(ESL), a ribbon or planar magnetic loudspeaker, or a bending waveloudspeaker.

A sounder may an electromechanical type, such as an electric bell, abuzzer (or beeper), a chime, a whistle or a ringer and may be eitherelectromechanical or ceramic-based piezoelectric sounders. The soundermay emit a single or multiple tones, and can be in continuous orintermittent operation.

The system may use the sounder to play digital audio content, eitherstored in, or received by, the sounder, the actuator unit, the router,the control server, or any combination thereof. The audio content storedmay be either pre-recorded or using a synthesizer. Few digital audiofiles may be stored, selected by the control logic. Alternatively or inaddition, the source of the digital audio may a microphone serving as asensor. In another example, the system uses the sounder for simulatingthe voice of a human being or generates music. The music produced canemulate the sounds of a conventional acoustical music instrument, suchas a piano, tuba, harp, violin, flute, guitar and so forth. A talkinghuman voice may be played by the sounder, either pre-recorded or usinghuman voice synthesizer, and the sound may be a syllable, a word, aphrase, a sentence, a short story or a long story, and can be based onspeech synthesis or pre-recorded, using male or female voice.

A human speech may be produced using a hardware, software (or both)speech synthesizer, which may be Text-To-Speech (TTS) based. The speechsynthesizer may be a concatenative type, using unit selection, diphonesynthesis, or domain-specific synthesis. Alternatively or in addition,the speech synthesizer may be a formant type, and may be based onarticulatory synthesis or hidden Markov models (HMM) based.

An actuator may be used to generate an electric or magnetic field, andmay be an electromagnetic coil or an electromagnet.

An actuator may be a display for presentation of visual data orinformation, commonly on a screen, and may consist of an array (e.g.,matrix) of light emitters or light reflectors, and may present text,graphics, image or video. A display may be a monochrome, gray-scale, orcolor type, and may be a video display. The display may be a projector(commonly by using multiple reflectors), or alternatively (or inaddition) have the screen integrated. A projector may be based on anEidophor, Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS or LCOS), or LCD, or may useDigital Light Processing (DLP™) technology, and may be MEMS based or bea virtual retinal display. A video display may supportStandard-Definition (SD) or High-Definition (HD) standards, and maysupport 3D. The display may present the information as scrolling,static, bold or flashing. The display may be an analog display, such ashaving NTSC, PAL or SECAM formats. Similarly, analog RGB, VGA (VideoGraphics Array), SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), SCART or S-videointerface, or may be a digital display, such as having IEEE1394interface (a.k.a. FireWire™), may be used. Other digital interfaces thatcan be used are USB, SDI (Serial Digital Interface), HDMI(High-Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface),UDI (Unified Display Interface), DisplayPort, Digital Component Video orDVB (Digital Video Broadcast) interface. Various user controls mayinclude an on/off switch, a reset button and others. Other exemplarycontrols involve display associated settings such as contrast,brightness and zoom.

A display may be a Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) display, or a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD) display. The LCD display may be passive (such as CSTN orDSTN based) or active matrix, and may be Thin Film Transistor (TFT) orLED-backlit LCD display. A display may be a Field Emission Display(FED), Electroluminescent Display (ELD), Vacuum Fluorescent Display(VFD), or may be an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display, basedon passive-matrix (PMOLED) or active-matrix OLEDs (AMOLED).

A display may be based on an Electronic Paper Display (EPD), and bebased on Gyricon technology, Electro-Wetting Display (EWD), orElectrofluidic display technology. A display may be a laser videodisplay or a laser video projector, and may be based on aVertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting-Laser (VECSEL) or aVertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL).

A display may be a segment display, such as a numerical or analphanumerical display that can show only digits or alphanumericcharacters, words, characters, arrows, symbols, ASCII and non-ASCIIcharacters. Examples are Seven-segment display (digits only),Fourteen-segment display, and Sixteen-segment display, and a dot matrixdisplay.

An actuator may be a thermoelectric actuator such as a cooler or aheater for changing the temperature of a solid, liquid or gas object,and may use conduction, convection, thermal radiation, or by thetransfer of energy by phase changes. A heater may be a radiator usingradiative heating, a convector using convection, or a forced convectionheater. A thermoelectric actuator may be a heating or cooling heat pump,and may be electrically powered, compression-based cooler using anelectric motor to drive a refrigeration cycle. A thermoelectric actuatormay be an electric heater, converting electrical energy into heat, usingresistance, or a dielectric heater. A thermoelectric actuator may be asolid-state active heat pump device based on the Peltier effect. Athermoelectric actuator may be an air cooler, using a compressor-basedrefrigeration cycle of a heat pump. An electric heater may be aninduction heater.

An actuator unit may include a signal generator serving as an actuatorfor providing an electrical signal (such as a voltage or current), ormay be coupled between the processor and the actuator for controllingthe actuator. A signal generator an analog or digital signal generator,and may be based on software (or firmware) or may be a separated circuitor component. A signal may generate repeating or non-repeatingelectronic signals, and may include a digital to analog converter (DAC)to produce an analog output. Common waveforms are a sine wave, asaw-tooth, a step (pulse), a square, and a triangular waveforms. Thegenerator may include some sort of modulation functionality such asAmplitude Modulation (AM), Frequency Modulation (FM), or PhaseModulation (PM). A signal generator may be an Arbitrary WaveformGenerators (AWGs) or a logic signal generator.

An actuator unit may include an electrical switch (or multiple switches)coupled between the processor and the actuator for activating theactuator. Two or more switches may be used, connected in series or inparallel. The switch may be integrated with the actuator (if separatedfrom the actuator unit), with the actuator unit, or any combinationthereof. In the above examples, a controller can affect the actuator (orload) activation by sending the actuator unit a message to activate theactuator by powering it, or to deactivate the actuator operation bybreaking the current floe thereto, or shifting the actuator betweenstates. A switch is typically designed to open (breaking, interrupting),close (making), or change one or more electric circuits under some typeof external control, and may be an electromechanical device with one ormore sets of electrical contacts having two or more states. The switchmay be a ‘normally open’, ‘normally closed’ type, or a changeoverswitch, that may be either a ‘make-before-break’ or ‘break-before-make’type. The switch contacts may have one or more poles and one or morethrows, such as Single-Pole-Single-Throw (SPST),Single-Pole-Double-Throw (SPDT), Double-Pole-Double-Throw (DPDT),Double-Pole-Single-Throw (DPST), and Single-Pole-Changeover (SPCO). Theswitch may be an electrically operated switch such as an electromagneticrelay, which may be a non-latching or a latching type. The relay may bea reed relay, or a solid-state or semiconductor based relay, such as aSolid State Relay (SSR). A switch may be implemented using an electricalcircuit, such as an open collector or open drain based circuit, athyristor, a TRIAC or an opto-isolator.

The image processing may include video enhancement such as videodenoising, image stabilization, unsharp masking, and super-resolution.The image processing may include a Video Content Analysis (VCA), such asVideo Motion Detection (VMD), video tracking, and egomotion estimation,as well as identification, behavior analysis and other forms ofsituation awareness, dynamic masking, motion detection, objectdetection, face recognition, automatic number plate recognition, tamperdetection, video tracking, and pattern recognition.

The image processing may be used for non-verbal human control of thesystem, such as by hand posture or gesture recognition. The recognizedhand posture or gesture may be used as input by the control logic in thecontroller, and thus enables humans to interface with the machine inways sometimes described as Man-Machine Interfaces (MMI) orHuman-Machine Interfaces (HMI) and interact naturally without anymechanical devices, and thus to impact the system operation and theactuators commands and operation. An image-based recognition may use asingle camera or 3-D camera. A gesture recognition may be based on 3-Dinformation of key elements of the body parts or may be 2-Dappearance-based. A 3-D model approach can use volumetric or skeletalmodels, or a combination of the two.

A redundancy may be used in order to improve the accuracy, reliability,or availability. The redundancy may be implemented where two or morecomponents may be used for the same functionality. The components may besimilar, substantially or fully the same, identical, different,substantially different, or distinct from each other, or any combinationthereof. The redundant components may be concurrently operated, allowingfor improved robustness and allowing for overcoming a single point offailure (SPOF), or alternatively one or more of the components serves asa backup. The redundancy may be a standby redundancy, which may be ‘ColdStandby’ and ‘Hot Standby’. In the case three redundant components areused, Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) may be used, and Quadruple ModularRedundancy (QMR) may be used in the case of four components. A 1:NRedundancy logic may be used for three or more components.

A sensor redundancy involves using two or more sensors sensing the samephenomenon. One of the two may be used, or all the sensors may be usedtogether such as for averaging measurements for improved accuracy. Twoor more data path may be available in the system between the systemelements, where one of the may be only used, or alternatively all thedata paths may be used together such as for improving the availablebandwidth, throughput and delay. In one example two or more sensor maybe used for sensing the same (or substantially the same) phenomenon. Thetwo (or more) sensors may be part of, associated with, or connected tothe same field unit. Alternatively or in addition, each sensor may beconnected to, or be part of, a distinct field unit. Similarly, two ormore actuators may be used for generating or affecting the same (orsubstantially the same) phenomenon. The two (or more) actuators may bepart of, associated with, or connected to the same field unit.Alternatively or in addition, each actuator may be connected to, or bepart of, a distinct field unit.

The field units and the router may be located in the same building (orvehicle), in different buildings (or vehicles) or external (adjacent orremote) to the building (or vehicle) or the user premises. A field unitmay communicate (such as send sensor info or receive actuator commands)with the router (or gateway) or the control server using the same ordifferent WANs used by the router, and may be associated by thecontroller and its control logic by communication with the router or thecontrol server.

The memory may be a random-accessed or a sequential-accessed memory, andmay be location-based, randomly-accessed, and can be written multipletimes. The memory may be volatile and based on semiconductor storagemedium, such as: RAM, SRAM, DRAM, TTRAIVI and Z-RAM. The memory may benon-volatile and based on semiconductor storage medium, such as ROM,PROM, EPROM or EEROM, and may be Flash-based, such as SSD drive or USB‘Thumb’ drive. The memory may be based on non-volatile magnetic storagemedium, such as HDD. The memory may be based on an optical storagemedium that is recordable and removable, and may include an optical diskdrive. The storage medium may be: CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM BD-RE,CD-ROM, BD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The memory form factor may be an IC, a PCB onwhich one or more ICs are mounted, or a box-shaped enclosure.

The communication may be based on a PAN, a LAN or a WAN communicationlink, may use private or public networks, and may be packet-based orcircuit-switched. The first bus or the second bus (or both) may each bebased on Ethernet and may be substantially compliant with IEEE 802.3standard, and be based on one out of: 100BaseT/TX, 1000BaseT/TX, 10gigabit Ethernet substantially (or in full) according to IEEE Std802.3ae-2002as standard, 40 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 Gigabit Ethernetsubstantially according to IEEE P802.3ba standard. The first bus or thesecond bus (or both) may each be based on a multi-drop, a daisy-chaintopology, or a point-to-point connection, use half-duplex orfull-duplex, and may employs a master/slave scheme. The first bus or thesecond bus (or both) may each be a wired-based, point-to-point, andbit-serial bus, where a timing, clocking or strobing signal is carriedover dedicated wires, or using a self-clocking scheme. Each of the buses(or both) may use a fiber-optic cable as the bus medium, and the adaptermay comprise a fiber-optic connector for connecting to the fiber-opticcable.

The communication between two devices in the building (or vehicle),external to the building (or vehicle), or between a device in thebuilding (or vehicle) to a device external to the building (or vehicle),such as the communication between field units, between routers, betweenhome devices, between field unit and a router, between field unit and aserver, or between a router and a server, may use multiple communicationroutes over the same or different networks, which may be used separatelyas redundant data paths or cooperatively such as aggregatedcommunication links. A device in the system may include multiple networkinterfaces for communicating the multiple data routes or forcommunication over the multiple networks. A network interface mayinclude a transceiver or modem and a communication port for coupling tothe network, such as a connector for connecting to a wired or conductivenetwork and an antenna for coupling to a wireless network. A physical,software, or logical (or a combination thereof) based interface selectorin the device receives the packet to be sent and under a dedicated orgeneral computer or processor control directs it to one or more of thenetwork interfaces, to be sent over the multiple networks or dataroutes. A packet to be sent may be received by the interface selector,and when the interfaces that are available for transmission of thereceived packet are identified, and then an interface to be used (ormultiple interfaces) may be selected out of the available interfaces,and the packet may be directed and sent to the selected interface forbeing transmitted over the associated network.

The network interfaces may be (in part or in whole) similar, identicalor different from each other. The networks or the data paths may besimilar, identical or different from each other, and may use different,similar or same medium, protocol, or connections. The networks may bewired (or otherwise conductive) and may be using coaxial cable,twisted-pair, power lines (powerlines) or telephone lines, or wireless(or otherwise using non-conductive propagation), using over the air orguided Radio Frequency (RF), light or sound propagation, and the networkinterfaces may include antennas, fiber-optics connectors, light emittersor light detectors, or speakers and microphones, or any combinationthereof.

The networks or the data paths may be similar, identical or differentgeographical scale or coverage types and data rates, such as NFCs, PANs,LANs, MANs, or WANs, or any combination thereof. The networks or thedata paths may be similar, identical or different types of modulation,such as Amplitude Modulation (AM), a Frequency Modulation (FM), or aPhase Modulation (PM), or any combination thereof. The networks or thedata paths may be similar, identical or different types of duplexingsuch half- or full-duplex, or any combination thereof. The networks orthe data paths may be based on similar, identical or different types ofswitching such as circuit-switched or packet-switched, or anycombination thereof. The networks or the data paths may have similar,identical or different ownership or operation, such as private or publicnetworks, or any combination thereof.

Two or more network interfaces may communicate over the same network orconnected to same network medium simultaneously or at different times,and may use FDM technique, where filters passing different, same, oroverlapping frequency bands may be connected between the modems and therespective communication ports. Alternatively or in addition, distinctmodulation or coding schemes may be used in order to carry two or moresignals over the same medium or over the same frequency band. Two ormore network interfaces may share the same network port such as the sameantenna or the same connector.

A packet may be sent via one, part of, or all of the availableinterfaces. A packet may be sent via one of the available interfaces,selected by using a cyclic assigning mechanism, or may otherwise form anaggregated stream such as by using a Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)scheme. A packet may be sent via randomly selected one of the availableinterfaces, or using a priority that may be assigned to each networkinterface. The priorities may be pre-set, fixed or adaptive and changingin time. The selection of the interface to be used, or the prioritiesassigned to the network interfaces, may be based on the availablenetworks attributes or history, such as cost of network usage, qualityof the communication via the interface or network, available bandwidthor throughput, communication errors or packets loss, number of hops todestination, last receive packet, or transfer delay time.

The selection of the interface to be used, or the priorities assigned tothe network interfaces, may be based on routing tables (fixed ordynamic) associating the network interfaces to the attributes of thepacket, such as destination or source address, or may be based on thetype of information carried in the packet.

The field units and the router may be located in the same building (orvehicle), in different buildings (or vehicles) or external (adjacent orremote) to the building (or vehicle) or the user premises. A field unitmay communicate (such as send sensor info or receive actuator commands)with the router (or gateway) or the control server using the same ordifferent WANs used by the router, and may be associated by thecontroller and its control logic by communication with the router or thecontrol server.

The system may include computers, routers, and field units including, orconnected to, sensors and actuators, in a vehicle, and may becommunicating via a router or routers to a server external to thevehicle. The vehicle may communicate with other vehicles, or with theserver, via other vehicle or via (or to) a roadside unit or otherstationary devices. The vehicle may be designed for use on land, on orin fluids, or be airborne, such as bicycle, car, automobile, motorcycle,train, ship, boat, submarine, airplane, scooter, bus, subway, train, orspacecraft. The sensors may sense a phenomenon in the vehicle orexternal to the vehicle. The actuators may affect the vehicle speed,direction, or route, or may be affecting the in-vehicle systems orenvironment. The system may be used for improving safety, trafficmanagement, driver assisting, pricing management, and navigation. Thein-vehicle networks may be based on standard or vehicle specific buses,such as CAN or LIN.

Any device in the system, such as a router, a field unit, a homecomputer, a server, or any other device or computer, may be addressablein any of the system, networks (such as the in-building or in-vehiclenetwork, or any external network such as the the Internet) using adigital address which may be stored in a volatile or non-volatilememory. The same address or different addresses may be used whencommunicating over the various networks in the system, and the addressmay be or locally administered addresses universally administeredaddresses, where the address is uniquely assigned to a device by itsmanufacturer (such as programmed during manufacturing) or by itsinstaller or user. The address may be a permanent and globally uniqueidentification, and may be software-based or hardware-based. The addressmay be layer 2 address such as MAC address (e.g., MAC-48, EUI-48, orEUI-64), or alternatively (or in addition) may be IP address such asIPv4 or IPv6. The address may be static or dynamic IP address. Theaddress may be assigned by another device in the network via acommunication port or interface over the network, and may use DHCP. Forexample, the control server, the home computer, or the router may assignaddresses to the router or to the field units. A device may beassociated with, or be identified, by multiple addresses, which mayrelate to different OSI model layers (such as MAC and IP address), or tobe used by different networks, such as multiple addressable networkinterfaces. The sensors and the actuators in the systems, or theirrespective connections or ports, may be individually addressable addedto the related field unit other addresses, and may serve for source ordestination addresses in the system. The sensors or actuators addresses,or the related connections or ports, may be uniquely assigned to duringmanufacturing, or may be assigned by the associated field unit, or adevice communicating with the associated field unit.

In one aspect, a vehicle control system is disclosed such as forcommanding an actuator operation according to a control logic, inresponse to a sensor response associated with a phenomenon, for examplefor use with one or more in-vehicle networks for communication in avehicle, and an external network for communicating with anInternet-connected control server via another vehicle or a roadside unitexternal to the vehicle. The system may comprise a router in thevehicle, connected to the one or more in-vehicle networks and to theexternal network, and may be operative to pass digital data between thein-vehicle and one or more external networks; a first device in thevehicle that may comprise of, or connectable to, a sensor that respondsto the phenomenon, the first device may be operative to transmit asensor digital data corresponding to the phenomenon to the router overthe one or more in-vehicle networks; a second device in the vehicle thatmay comprise of, or connectable to, an actuator that affects thephenomenon, the second device may be operative to execute actuatorcommands received from the router over the one or more in-vehiclenetworks; and an Internet-connected control server external to thevehicle storing the control logic, and communicatively coupled to therouter over the Internet via the one or more external networks. Thecontrol server may be operative to receive the sensor digital data fromthe router, may produce actuator commands in response to the receivedsensor digital data according to the control logic, and may transmit theactuator commands to the second device via the router.

One of the external networks may be a vehicle-to-vehicle network forcommunicating with the Internet-connected control server via anothervehicle, or may be communicating with a stationary device that may be aroadside unit. The router, the first device, or the second device may bemechanical attached to the vehicle that may be adapted for travelling onland, water, or may be airborne. The vehicle may be a bicycle, a car, amotorcycle, a train, a ship, an aircraft, a boat, a spacecraft, a boat,a submarine, a dirigible, an electric scooter, a subway, a train, atrolleybus, a tram, a sailboat, a yacht, or an airplane. The sensor maybe operative to sense a phenomenon in the vehicle, external to thevehicle, or in the surroundings around the vehicle, and the actuator maybe operative to affect a phenomenon in the vehicle, external to thevehicle, or in the surroundings around the vehicle. The system may becoupled to monitor or control the Engine Control Unit (ECU), theTransmission Control Unit (TCU), the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), orthe Body Control Modules (BCM), and may be integrated with or being partof a vehicular communication system used to improved safety, trafficflow control, traffic reporting, traffic management, parking help,cruise control, lane keeping, road sign recognition, surveillance, speedlimit warning, restricted entries, pull-over commands, travelinformation, cooperative adaptive cruise control, cooperative forwardcollision warning, intersection collision avoidance, approachingemergency vehicle warning, vehicle safety inspection, transit oremergency vehicle signal priority, electronic parking payments,commercial vehicle clearance and safety inspections, in-vehicle signing,rollover warning, probe data collection, highway-rail intersectionwarning, or electronic toll collection.

One or more of the in-vehicle networks may be according to, or based on,SAE J1962, SAE J1850, SAE J1979, ISO 15765, or ISO 9141 standard, or maybe a vehicle bus that may be according to, or based on, Control AreaNetwork (CAN) or Local Interconnect Network (LIN), and may use thevehicle DC power lines as a communication medium. The system may becoupled to or integrated with the vehicle On-Board Diagnostics (OBD)system that may be according to, or based on, OBD-II or EOBD (EuropeanOn-Board Diagnostics) standards. The router, the first device, or thesecond device may be coupled to the OBD diagnostics connector, and maybe at least in part powered via the OBD diagnostics connector. Therouter may be operative to communicate to the control server informationregarding fuel and air metering, ignition system, misfire, auxiliaryemission control, vehicle speed and idle control, transmission, on-boardcomputer, fuel level, relative throttle position, ambient airtemperature, accelerator pedal position, air flow rate, fuel type,oxygen level, fuel rail pressure, engine oil temperature, fuel injectiontiming, engine torque, engine coolant temperature, intake airtemperature, exhaust gas temperature, fuel pressure, injection pressure,turbocharger pressure, boost pressure, exhaust pressure, exhaust gastemperature, engine run time, NOx sensor, manifold surface temperature,or the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

In one aspect, a control system is disclosed, for example for commandingan actuator operation according to a control logic, in response toprocessing of an image, such as for use with one or more in-building (orin-vehicle) networks for communication in the building (or vehicle), andan external network at least in part external to the building (orvehicle). The system may comprise a router in the building (or vehicle),connected to the one or more in-building (or in-vehicle) networks and tothe external network, and may be operative to pass digital data betweenthe in-building (or in-vehicle) and external networks; a first device inthe building (or vehicle) comprising an image sensor for capturing stillor video image, the first device may be operative to transmit a digitaldata corresponding to the captured still or video image to the routerover the one or more in-building (or in vehicle) network; a seconddevice in the building (or vehicle) comprising an actuator that affectsthe phenomenon, the second device may be operative to execute actuatorcommands received from the router over the one or more in-building (orin-vehicle) networks; an Internet-connected control server (referredherein also as ‘cloud server’ and ‘gateway server’) external to thebuilding (or vehicle) storing the control logic, and communicativelycoupled to the router over the Internet via the external network; and animage processor having an output for processing the captured still orvideo image; and the control server may be operative to produce actuatorcommands in response to the image processor output according to thecontrol logic, and may be operative to transmit the actuator commands tothe second device via the router, and the image processor may beentirely or in part in the first device, the router, the control server,or any combination thereof.

In one aspect, a control system is disclosed such as for commanding anactuator operation according to a control logic, in response toprocessing of a voice, for example for use with one or more in-building(or in-vehicle) networks for communication in the building (or vehicle),and an external network at least in part external to the building (orvehicle). The system may comprise a router in the building (or vehicle),connected to the one or more in-building (or in-vehicle) networks and tothe external network, and may be operative to pass digital data betweenthe in-building (or in-vehicle) and external networks; a first device inthe building (or vehicle) comprising a microphone for sensing voice, thefirst device may be operative to transmit a digital data correspondingto the sensed voice to the router over the one or more in-building (orin vehicle) network; a second device in the building (or vehicle)comprising an actuator that affects the phenomenon, the second devicemay be operative to execute actuator commands received from the routerover the one or more in-building (or in-vehicle) networks; anInternet-connected control server external to the building (or vehicle)storing the control logic, and communicatively coupled to the routerover the Internet via the external network; and a voice processor havingan output for processing the voice. The control server may be operativeto produce actuator commands in response to the voice processor outputaccording to the control logic, and may be operative to transmit theactuator commands to the second device via the router, and the voiceprocessor may be entirely or in part in the first device, the router,the control server, or any combination thereof.

In one aspect, a control system is disclosed, for example for use with,or including, one or more in-building (or in-vehicle) networks forcommunication in the building (or vehicle), and for example for usewith, or including, an external network at least in part external to thebuilding (or vehicle), and may be used for commanding an actuatoroperation according to a control logic in response to a sensor responseassociated with a phenomenon. The system may comprise a router in thebuilding (or vehicle), connected to the one or more in-building (orin-vehicle) networks and to the external network, and may be operativeto pass digital data between the in-building (or in-vehicle) andexternal networks; a first device in the building (or vehicle)comprising of, or connectable to, a sensor that responds to thephenomenon, the first device may be operative to transmit a sensordigital data corresponding to the phenomenon to the router over the oneor more in-building (or in-vehicle) networks; a second device in thebuilding (or vehicle) comprising of, or connectable to, an actuator thataffects the phenomenon, the second device may be operative to executeactuator commands received from the router over the one or morein-building (or in-vehicle) networks; and an Internet-connected controlserver external to the building (or vehicle) storing the control logic,and communicatively coupled to the router over the Internet via theexternal network. The control server may be operative to receive thesensor digital data from the router, to produce actuator commands inresponse to the received sensor digital data according to the controllogic, and to transmit the actuator commands to the second device viathe router. The router may be a gateway or may comprise one or moregateway functionalities. The phenomenon may be associated with anobject, and the object may be gas, air, liquid or solid.

The sensor may provide a digital output, and the sensor output mayinclude an electrical switch, and the electrical switch state may beresponsive to the phenomenon magnitude measured versus a threshold,which may be set by the actuator. The sensor may provide an analogoutput, and the first device may comprise an analog to digital convertercoupled to the analog output, for converting the sensor output to adigital data. The first device may comprise a signal conditioningcircuit coupled to the sensor output, and the signal conditioningcircuit may comprise an amplifier, a voltage or current limiter, anattenuator, a delay line or circuit, a level translator, a galvanicisolator, an impedance transformer, a linearization circuit, acalibrator, a passive filter, an active filter, an adaptive filter, anintegrator, a deviator, an equalizer, a spectrum analyzer, a compressoror a de-compressor, a coder, a decoder, a modulator, a demodulator, apattern recognizer, a smoother, a noise remover, an average circuit, oran RMS circuit. The sensor may be operative to sense time-dependentcharacteristic of the sensed phenomenon, and may be operative to respondto a time-integrated, an average, an RMS (Root Mean Square) value, afrequency, a period, a duty-cycle, a time-integrated, or atime-derivative, of the sensed phenomenon. The first device, the router,or the control server may be operative to calculate or provide atime-dependent characteristic such as time-integrated, an average, anRMS (Root Mean Square) value, a frequency, a period, a duty-cycle, atime-integrated, or a time-derivative, of the sensed phenomenon. Thesensor may be operative to sense space-dependent characteristic of thesensed phenomenon, such as to a pattern, a linear density, a surfacedensity, a volume density, a flux density, a current, a direction, arate of change in a direction, or a flow, of the sensed phenomenon. Thefirst device, the router, or the control server may be operative tocalculate or provide a space-dependent characteristic of the sensedphenomenon, such as a pattern, a linear density, a surface density, avolume density, a flux density, a current, a direction, a rate of changein a direction, or a flow, of the sensed phenomenon.

The actuator may affect, create, or change a phenomenon associated withan object, and the object may be gas, air, liquid, or solid. Theactuator may be controlled by a digital input, and may be electricalactuator powered by an electrical energy. The actuator may be controlledby an analog input, and the second device may comprise a digital toanalog converter coupled to the analog input, for converting a digitaldata to an actuator input signal. The second device may comprise asignal conditioning circuit coupled to the actuator input, the signalconditioning circuit may comprise an amplifier, a voltage or currentlimiter, an attenuator, a delay line or circuit, a level translator, agalvanic isolator, an impedance transformer, a linearization circuit, acalibrator, a passive filter, an active filter, an adaptive filter, anintegrator, a deviator, an equalizer, a spectrum analyzer, a compressoror a de-compressor, a coder, a decoder, a modulator, a demodulator, apattern recognizer, a smoother, a noise remover, an average circuit, oran RMS circuit. The actuator may be operative to affect time-dependentcharacteristic such as a time-integrated, an average, an RMS (Root MeanSquare) value, a frequency, a period, a duty-cycle, a time-integrated,or a time-derivative, of the sensed phenomenon. The actuator may beoperative to affect or change space-dependent characteristic of thephenomenon, such as a pattern, a linear density, a surface density, avolume density, a flux density, a current, a direction, a rate of changein a direction, or a flow, of the sensed phenomenon. The second device,the router, or the control server may be operative to affect aspace-dependent characteristic such as a pattern, a linear density, asurface density, a volume density, a flux density, a current, adirection, a rate of change in a direction, or a flow, of thephenomenon.

The system may comprise a third device external to the building (orvehicle) comprising an additional sensor that responds to a distinct orsame phenomenon, the third device may be operative to transmit anadditional sensor digital data corresponding to the distinct phenomenonto the control server, and the control server may be operative toreceive the additional sensor digital data, to produce actuator commandsin response to the received additional sensor digital data according tothe control logic. The third device may communicate with the controlserver over the external network, over a network distinct from theexternal network, or both.

Alternatively or in addition, the system may comprise a fourth deviceexternal to the building (or vehicle) comprising an additional actuatorthat responds to received additional actuator commands, the fourthdevice may be operative to receive an additional actuator commands fromthe control server, and the control server may be operative to transmitthe additional actuator commands to the fourth device. The fourth devicemay communicate with the control server over the external network, overa network distinct from the external network, or both.

The control loop may involve randomness, and the system may comprise arandom number generator for generating random numbers. The random numbergenerator may be hardware based, and may based on thermal noise, shotnoise, nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric effect, or quantumphenomena. Alternatively or in addition, the random number generator maybe software based, and the system may execute an algorithm forgenerating pseudo-random numbers.

The sensor, the actuator, the first device, the second device, or therouter may comprise, or may be integrated with, an outlet or an outletplug-in module for connecting to in-wall wiring. The outlet may be atelephone, LAN, AC power, or CATV outlet, and the in-wall wiring may bea telephone wire pair, a LAN cable, an AC power cable, or a CATV coaxialcable. The in-wall wiring may be carrying a power signal to power partor whole of the sensor, the actuator, the first device, the seconddevice, or the router. The in-wall wiring may serve as the in-building(or in-vehicle) network medium for communication associated with thefirst device, the second device, or the router.

The system may comprise multiple sensors arranged as a directionalsensor array, and the system may be operative to estimate the number,magnitude, frequency, Direction-Of-Arrival (DOA), distance, or speed ofthe signal impinging the sensor array. The control logic may includeprocessing of the sensor array outputs. A single component may consistof, or may be part of, the sensor and the actuator. The sensor may be apiezoelectric sensor that uses the transverse, longitudinal, or sheareffect mode of the piezoelectric effect. Alternatively or in addition,the sensor may be based on ultrasonic-waves propagation, sensingeddy-currents, based on proximity sensor. The sensor may be a bulk orsurface acoustic sensor, or may be an atmospheric or an environmentalsensor.

The sensor may be a thermoelectric sensor that senses or responds to atemperature or a temperature gradient of an object using conduction,convection, or radiation, and may consist of, or comprise, a PositiveTemperature Coefficient (PTC) thermistor, a Negative TemperatureCoefficient (NTC) thermistor, a thermocouple, a quartz crystal, or aResistance Temperature Detector (RTD). A radiation-based sensor mayrespond to radioactivity, nuclear radiation, alpha particles, betaparticles, or gamma rays, and may be based on gas ionization.

The sensor may be a photoelectric sensor that responds to a visible oran invisible light or both, such as infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, orgamma rays. The photoelectric sensor may be based on the photoelectricor photovoltaic effect, and consists of, or comprises, a semiconductorcomponent such as a photodiode, a phototransistor, or a solar cell. Thephotoelectric sensor may be based on Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) or aComplementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) element. The sensor maybe a photosensitive image sensor array comprising multiple photoelectricsensors, and may be operative for capturing an image and producing anelectronic image information representing the image, and may compriseone or more optical lens for focusing the received light andmechanically oriented to guide the image, and the image sensor may bedisposed approximately at an image focal point plane of the one or moreoptical lens for properly capturing the image. An image processor may becoupled to the image sensor for providing a digital data video signalaccording to a digital video format, the digital video signal carryingdigital data video based on the captured images, and the digital videoformat may be according to, or based on, one out of: TIFF (Tagged ImageFile Format), RAW format, AVI, DV, MOV, WMV, MP4, DCF (Design Rule forCamera Format), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, ITU-T CCIR 601,ASF, Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) and DPOF (Digital Print OrderFormat) standards. A video compressor may be coupled to the image sensorfor lossy or non-lossy compressing of the digital data video, and may bebased on a standard compression algorithm such as JPEG (JointPhotographic Experts Group) and MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group),ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, or ITU-T CCIR 601.

The sensor may be an electrochemical sensor and may respond to an objectchemical structure, properties, composition, or reactions. Theelectrochemical sensor may be a pH meter or may be a gas sensorresponding to the presence of radon, hydrogen, oxygen, orCarbon-Monoxide (CO). The electrochemical sensor may be a smoke, aflame, or a fire detector, and may be based on optical detection or onionization for responding to combustible, flammable, or toxic gas.

The sensor may be a physiological sensor and may respond to parametersassociated with a live body, and may be external to the sensed body,implanted inside the sensed body, attached to the sensed body, orwearable on the sensed body. The physiological sensor may be respondingto body electrical signals such as an EEG Electroencephalography (EEG)or an Electrocardiography (ECG) sensor, or may be responding to oxygensaturation, gas saturation, or blood pressure.

The sensor may be an electroacoustic sensor and may respond to a sound,such as inaudible or audible audio. The electroacoustic sensor may be aan omnidirectional, unidirectional, or bidirectional microphone, may bebased on the sensing the incident sound based motion of a diaphragm or aribbon, and may consist of, or comprise, a condenser, an electret, adynamic, a ribbon, a carbon, or a piezoelectric microphone.

The sensor may be an electric sensor and may respond to or measure anelectrical characteristics or electrical phenomenon quantity, and may beconductively, non-conductively, or non-contact couplable to the sensedelement. The electrical sensor may be responsive to Alternating Current(AC) or Direct Current (DC), and may be an ampermeter and respond to anelectrical current passing through a conductor or wire. The ampermetermay consist of, or comprises, a galvanometer, a hot-wire ampermeter, acurrent clamp, or a current probe. Alternatively or in addition, theelectrical sensor may be a voltmeter and may respond to or measure anelectrical voltage. The voltmeter may consist of, or comprise, anelectrometer, a resistor, a potentiometer, or a bridge circuit. Theelectrical sensor may be a wattmeter such as an electricity meter thatresponds to electrical energy, and may measure or respond to activeelectrical power. The wattmeter may be based on induction, or may bebased on multiplying measured voltage and current.

The electrical sensor may be an impedance meter and may respond to theimpedance of the sensed element such as bridge circuit or an ohmmeter,and may be based on supplying a current or a voltage and respectivelymeasuring a voltage or a current. The impedance meter may be acapacitance or an inductance meter (or both) and may respond to thecapacitance or the inductance of the sensed element, being measuring ina single frequency or in multiple frequencies. The electrical sensor maybe a Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR) and may respond to the impedancechanges along a conductive transmission line, such as an optical TDRthat may respond to the changes along an optical transmission line.

The sensor may be a magnetic sensor and may respond to an H or Bmagnetic field, and may consists of, or may be based on, a Hall effectsensor, a MEMS, a magneto-diode, a magneto-transistor, an AMRmagnetometer, a GMR magnetometer, a magnetic tunnel junctionmagnetometer, a Nuclear precession magnetic field sensor, an opticallypumped magnetic field sensor, a fluxgate magnetometer, a search coilmagnetic field sensor, or a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device(SQUID) magnetometer. The magnetic sensor may be MEMS based, and may bea Lorentz force based MEMS sensor or may be an Electron Tunneling basedMEMS.

The sensor may be a tactile sensor and may respond to a human bodytouch, and may be based on a conductive rubber, a lead zirconatetitanate (PZT) material, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) material, ametallic capacitive element, or any combination thereof.

The sensor may be a single-axis, 2-axis, or 3-axis motion sensor and mayrespond to the magnitude, direction, or both, of the sensor motion. Themotion sensor may be a piezoelectric, a piezoresistive, a capacitive, ora MEMS accelerometer and may respond to the absolute acceleration or theacceleration relative to freefall. The motion sensor may be anelectromechanical switch and may consist of, or comprises, an electricaltilt, or a vibration switch.

The sensor may be a force sensor and may respond to the magnitude,direction, or both, of a force, and may be based on a spring extension,a strain gauge deformation, a piezoelectric effect, or a vibrating wire.The force sensor may be a dynamometer that responds to a torque or to amoment of the force.

The sensor may be a pressure sensor and may respond to a pressure of agas or a liquid, and may consist of, or comprise, an absolute pressuresensor, a gauge pressure sensor, a vacuum pressure sensor, adifferential pressure sensor, or a sealed pressure sensor. The pressuresensor may be based on a force collector, the piezoelectric effect, acapacitive sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, or a frequency resonatorsensor.

The sensor may be an absolute, a relative displacement, or anincremental position sensor, and may respond to a linear or angularposition, or motion, of a sensed element. The position sensor may be anoptical type or a magnetic type angular position sensor, and may respondto an angular position or the rotation of a shaft, an axle, or a disk.The angular position sensor may be based on a variable-reluctance (VR),an Eddy-current killed oscillator (ECKO), a Wiegand sensing, or aHall-effect sensing, and may be transformer based such as an RVDT, aresolver or a synchro. The angular position sensor may be anelectromechanical type such as an absolute or an incremental, mechanicalor optical, rotary encoder. The angular position sensor may be anangular rate sensor and may respond to the angular rate, or the rotationspeed, of a shaft, an axle, or a disc, and may consist of, or comprise,a gyroscope, a tachometer, a centrifugal switch, a Ring Laser Gyroscope(RLG), or a fiber-optic gyro. The position sensor may be a linearposition sensor and may respond to a linear displacement or positionalong a line, and may consist of, or comprise, a transformer, an LVDT, alinear potentiometer, or an incremental or absolute linear encoder.

The sensor may be a motion detector and may respond to a motion of anelement, and may based on sound, geomagnetism, reflection of atransmitted energy, electromagnetic induction, or vibration. The motiondetector may consist of, or comprise, a mechanically-actuated switch.

The sensor may be a strain gauge and may respond to the deformation ofan object, and may be based on a metallic foil, a semiconductor, anoptical fiber, vibrating or resonating of a tensioned wire, or acapacitance meter. The sensor may be a hygrometer and may respond to anabsolute, relative, or specific humidity, and may be based on opticallydetecting condensation, or based on changing the capacitance,resistance, or thermal conductivity of materials subjected to themeasured humidity. The sensor may be a clinometer and may respond toinclination or declination, and may be based on an accelerometer, apendulum, a gas bubble in liquid, or a tilt switch.

The sensor may be a flow sensor and may measure the volumetric or massflow rate via a defined area, volume or surface. The flow sensor may bea liquid flow sensor and may be measuring the liquid flow in a pipe orin an open conduit. The liquid flow sensor may be a mechanical flowmeter and may consist of, or comprise, a turbine flow meter, a Woltmannmeter, a single jet meter, or a paddle wheel meter. The liquid flowsensor may be a pressure flow meter based on measuring an absolutepressure or a pressure differential. The flow sensor may be a gas or anair flow sensor such as anemometer for measuring wind or air speed, andmay measure the flow through a surface, a tube, or a volume, and may bebased on measuring the air volume passing in a time period. Theanemometer may consist of, or comprise, cup anemometer, a windmillanemometer, a pressure anemometer, a hot-wire anemometer, or a sonicanemometer.

The sensor may be a gyroscope for measuring orientation in space, andmay consist of, or comprise, a MEMS, a piezoelectric, a FOG, or a VSGgyroscope, and may be based on a conventional mechanical type, ananosensor, a crystal, or a semiconductor.

The sensor may be an image sensor for capturing an image or video, andthe system may include an image processor for recognition of a pattern,and the control logic may be operative to respond to the recognizedpattern such as appearance-based analysis of hand posture or gesturerecognition. The system may comprise an additional image sensor, and thecontrol logic may be operative to respond to the additional image sensorsuch as to cooperatively capture a 3-D image and for identifying thegesture recognition from the 3-D image, based on volumetric or skeletalmodels, or a combination thereof.

The sensor may be an image sensor for capturing still or video image,and the sensor or the system may comprise an image processor having anoutput for processing the captured image (still or video). The imageprocessor (hardware or software based, or a hardware/softwarecombination) may be encased entirely or in part in the first device, therouter, the control server, or any combination thereof, and the controllogic may respond to the image processor output. The image sensor may bea digital video sensor for capturing digital video content, and theimage processor may be operative for enhancing the video content such asby image stabilization, unsharp masking, or super-resolution, or forVideo Content Analysis (VCA) such as Video Motion Detection (VMD), videotracking, egomotion estimation, identification, behavior analysis,situation awareness, dynamic masking, motion detection, objectdetection, face recognition, automatic number plate recognition, tamperdetection, video tracking, or pattern recognition. The image processormay be operative for detecting a location of an element, and may beoperative for detecting and counting the number of elements in thecaptured image, such as a human body parts (such as human face or ahuman hand) in the captured image. An example of image processing forcounting people is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,466,844 to ArunRamaswamy et al., entitled: “Methods and Apparatus to Count PeopleAppearing in an Image”, which is incorporated in its entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

The actuator may be a light source that emits visible or non-visiblelight (infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, or gamma rays) such as forillumination or indication. The actuator may comprise a shade, areflector, an enclosing globe, or a lens, for manipulating the emittedlight. The light source may be an electric light source for convertingelectrical energy into light, and may consist of, or comprise, a lamp,such as an incandescent, a fluorescent, or a gas discharge lamp. Theelectric light source may be based on Solid-State Lighting (SSL) such asa Light Emitting Diode (LED) which may be Organic LED (OLED), a polymerLED (PLED), or a laser diode. The actuator may be a chemical orelectrochemical actuator, and may be operative for producing, changing,or affecting a matter structure, properties, composition, process, orreactions, such as producing, changing, or affecting anoxidation/reduction or an electrolysis reaction.

The actuator may be a motion actuator and may cause linear or rotarymotion or may comprise a conversion mechanism (may be based on a screw,a wheel and axle, or a cam) for converting to rotary or linear motion.The conversion mechanism may be based on a screw, and the system mayinclude a leadscrew, a screw jack, a ball screw or a roller screw, ormay be based on a wheel and axle, and the system may include a hoist, awinch, a rack and pinion, a chain drive, a belt drive, a rigid chain, ora rigid belt. The motion actuator may comprise a lever, a ramp, a screw,a cam, a crankshaft, a gear, a pulley, a constant-velocity joint, or aratchet, for affecting the produced motion. The motion actuator may be apneumatic actuator, a hydraulic actuator, or an electrical actuator. Themotion actuator may be an electrical motor such as brushed, a brushless,or an uncommutated DC motor, or a Permanent Magnet (PM) motor, aVariable reluctance (VR) motor, or a hybrid synchronous stepper DCmotor. The electrical motor may be an induction motor, a synchronousmotor, or an eddy current AC motor. The AC motor may be a single-phaseAC induction motor, a two-phase AC servo motor, or a three-phase ACsynchronous motor, and may be a split-phase motor, a capacitor-startmotor, or a Permanent-Split Capacitor (PSC) motor. The electrical motormay be an electrostatic motor, a piezoelectric actuator, or a MEMS-basedmotor.

The motion actuator may be a linear hydraulic actuator, a linearpneumatic actuator, or a linear electric motor such as linear inductionmotor (LIM) or a Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM). The motion actuator maybe a piezoelectric motor, a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) motor, aSquiggle motor, an ultrasonic motor, or a micro- or nanometer comb-drivecapacitive actuator, a Dielectric or Ionic based Electroactive Polymers(EAPs) actuator, a solenoid, a thermal bimorph, or a piezoelectricunimorph actuator.

The actuator may be operative to move, force, or compress liquid, gas orslurry, and may be a compressor or a pump. The pump may be a directlift, an impulse, a displacement, a valveless, a velocity, acentrifugal, a vacuum, or a gravity pump. The pump may be a positivedisplacement pump such as a rotary lobe, a progressive cavity, a rotarygear, a piston, a diaphragm, a screw, a gear, a hydraulic, or a vanepump. The positive displacement pump may be a rotary-type positivedisplacement pump such as an internal gear, a screw, a shuttle block, aflexible vane, a sliding vane, a rotary vane, a circumferential piston,a helical twisted roots, or a liquid ring vacuum pump. The positivedisplacement pump may be a reciprocating-type positive displacement typesuch as a piston, a diaphragm, a plunger, a diaphragm valve, or a radialpiston pump. The positive displacement pump may be a linear-typepositive displacement type such as rope-and-chain pump. The pump may bean impulse pump such as a hydraulic ram, a pulser, or an airlift pump.The pump may be a rotodynamic pump, such as a velocity pump or acentrifugal pump, that may be a radial flow, an axial flow, or a mixedflow pump.

The actuator may be a sounder for converting an electrical energy toemitted audible or inaudible sound waves, emitted as omnidirectional,unidirectional, or bidirectional pattern. The sound may be audible, andthe sounder may be an electromagnetic loudspeaker, a piezoelectricspeaker, an electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL), a ribbon or a planarmagnetic loudspeaker, or a bending wave loudspeaker. The sounder may beelectromechanical or ceramic based, and may be operative to emit asingle or multiple tones, and may be operative to continuous orintermittent operation. The sounder may be an electric bell, a buzzer(or beeper), a chime, a whistle or a ringer. The sounder may be aloudspeaker, and the system may be operative to play one or more digitalaudio content files (which may include a pre-recorded audio) storedentirely or in part in the second device, the router, or the controlserver. The system may comprise a synthesizer for producing the digitalaudio content. The sensor may be a microphone for capturing the digitalaudio content to play by the sounder. The control logic or the systemmay be operative to select one of the digital audio content files, andmay be operative for playing the selected file by the sounder. Thedigital audio content may be music, and may include the sound of anacoustical musical instrument such as a piano, a tuba, a harp, a violin,a flute, or a guitar. The digital audio content may be a male or femalehuman voice saying a syllable, a word, a phrase, a sentence, a shortstory or a long story. The system may comprise a speech synthesizer(such as a Text-To-Speech (TTS) based) for producing a human speech,being part of the second device, the router, the control server, or anycombination thereof. The speech synthesizer may be a concatenative type,and may use unit selection, diphone synthesis, or domain-specificsynthesis. Alternatively or in addition, the speech synthesizer may be aformant type, articulatory synthesis based, or hidden Markov models(HMM) based.

The actuator may be a monochrome, grayscale or color display forvisually presenting information, and may consist of an array of lightemitters or light reflectors. Alternatively or in addition, the displaymay be a visual retinal display or a projector based on an Eidophor,Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS or LCOS), LCD, MEMS or Digital LightProcessing (DLP™) technology. The display may be a video display thatmay support Standard-Definition (SD) or High-Definition (HD) standards,and may be 3D video display. The display may be capable of scrolling,static, bold or flashing the presented information. The display may bean analog display having an analog input interface such as NTSC, PAL orSECAM formats, or analog input interface such as RGB, VGA (VideoGraphics Array), SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), SCART or S-videointerface. Alternatively or in addition, the display may be a digitaldisplay having a digital input interface such as IEEE1394, FireWire™,USB, SDI (Serial Digital Interface), HDMI (High-Definition MultimediaInterface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), UDI (Unified DisplayInterface), DisplayPort, Digital Component Video, or DVB (Digital VideoBroadcast) interface. The display may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)display, a Thin Film Transistor (TFT), or an LED-backlit LCD display,and may be based on a passive or an active matrix. The display may be aCathode-Ray Tube (CRT), a Field Emission Display (FED), Electronic PaperDisplay (EPD) display (based on Gyricon technology, Electro-WettingDisplay (EWD), or Electrofluidic display technology), a laser videodisplay (based on a Vertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting-Laser(VECSEL) or a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL)), anElectroluminescent Display (ELD), a Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD), ora passive-matrix (PMOLED) or active-matrix OLEDs (AMOLED) OrganicLight-Emitting Diode (OLED) display. The display may be a segmentdisplay (such as Seven-segment display, a fourteen-segment display, asixteen-segment display, or a dot matrix display), and may be operativeto only display digits, alphanumeric characters, words, characters,arrows, symbols, ASCII, non-ASCII characters, or any combinationthereof.

The actuator may be a thermoelectric actuator (such as an electricthermoelectric actuator) and may be a heater or a cooler, and may beoperative for affecting or changing the temperature of a solid, aliquid, or a gas object. The thermoelectric actuator may be coupled tothe object by conduction, convection, force convention, thermalradiation, or by the transfer of energy by phase changes. Thethermoelectric actuator may include a heat pump, or may be a coolerbased on an electric motor based compressor for driving a refrigerationcycle. The thermoelectric actuator may be an induction heater, may be anelectric heater such as a resistance heater or a dielectric heater, ormay be solid-state based such as an active heat pump device based on thePeltier effect. The actuator may be an electromagnetic coil or anelectromagnet and may be operative for generating magnetic or electricfield.

The second device may comprise a signal generator that may signals, andmay output or provide repeating or non-repeating electrical signal orsignals. The actuator may consist of the signal generator. Alternativelyor in addition, the signal generator may be coupled to control theactuator. The signal generator may be an analog signal generator and theanalog signal generator output may be an analog voltage or an analogcurrent, such as a sine wave, a sawtooth, a step (pulse), a square, or atriangular waveform. The analog signal generator output may be anAmplitude Modulation (AM), a Frequency Modulation (FM), or a PhaseModulation (PM) signal. The signal generator may be an ArbitraryWaveform Generator (AWG) or a logic signal generator. The signalgenerator may have a digital output for providing a digital patternsignal.

The system may implement redundancy, and the system may include one ormore additional identical, similar, or different sensors that respond toor measure the phenomenon, one or more additional identical, similar, ordifferent actuators that affect the phenomenon, one or more redundantidentical to, similar to, or different from each other additional datapaths, or any combination thereof. The redundancy may be based on DualModula redundancy (DMR), Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR), QuadrupleModular Redundancy (QMR), 1:N Redundancy, ‘Cold Standby’, or ‘HotStandby’. The system may include an additional sensor that respond tothe phenomenon, and the control server may be operative to receive theadditional sensor data, and to produce actuator commands in response tothe received additional sensor digital data, and the control logic mayat one time produce actuator commands in response only to the receivedadditional sensor digital data. The system may include a fifth device inthe building (or vehicle) comprising the additional sensor that respondsto the same phenomenon, and the fifth device may be operative totransmit the additional sensor digital data to the router over one ormore of the in-building (or in-vehicle) networks in the building (orvehicle). The system may include an additional actuator that affects thephenomenon, and the control server may be operative to transmit theadditional actuator commands to the additional actuator. The controlserver may at one time be operative to transmit the additional actuatorcommands only to the additional actuator. The system may include aseventh device in the building (or vehicle) comprising the additionalactuator that affects the phenomenon, the seventh device may beoperative to receive and execute the additional actuator commandsreceived from the router.

The system may comprise an eighth device that comprises a sensor thatresponds to a second phenomenon, the eighth device may be operative totransmit a sensor digital data corresponding to the second phenomenon tothe router over the one or more in-building (or in-vehicle) networks.The second phenomenon may be of the same, or distinct from, thephenomenon above. The sensor of the eighth device may be of the sametype, or distinct type, of the sensor of the first device. The eighthdevice may communicate with the router over the same, or distinct from,the in-building (or in-vehicle) network used by the first device.

The system may comprise a ninth device that comprises an actuator thataffects a third phenomenon; the ninth device may be operative to receiveactuator commands corresponding to the third phenomenon from the routerover the one or more in-building (or in vehicle) networks. The thirdphenomenon may be of the same, or distinct from, the phenomenon above.The actuator of the ninth device may be of the same type, or distincttype, of the sensor of the second device. The ninth device maycommunicate with the router over the same, or distinct from, thein-building (or in-vehicle) network used by the second device.

The router, the first device, or the second device may be connectable tobe powered from a power source, and may comprise a power supplycouplable to the power source, such as a DC or AC power source. Thepower source may be external to, or housed with, the enclosure of therouter, the first device, or the second device, and may be a primary orrechargeable battery, an electrical power generator for generating powerfrom the phenomenon or from a distinct another phenomenon, anelectromechanical generator for harvesting kinetic energy, a solar cell,or a Peltier-effect based thermoelectric device. The AC power source maybe mains AC power, and the respective device may comprise an AC powerconnector connectable to an AC power outlet.

One or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle) networks may be a wirednetwork having a cable carrying a communication signal, and the router,the first device, or the second device may comprise a connector forcoupling to the cable. The cable may be connectable to simultaneouslycarry a DC or AC power signal, and the router, the first device, or thesecond device may be operative to supply at least in part of the powersignal, or at least in part be powered from the power signal. The powersignal may be carried over dedicated wires in the cable, and the wiresmay be distinct from the wires in the cable carrying the communicationsignal. Alternatively or in addition, the power signal and thecommunication signal may be carried over the same wires in the cable,and the connected device or devices may comprise a power/data splitterarrangement having first, second and third ports, and only the digitaldata signal may be passed between the first and second ports, and onlypower signal may be passed between the first and third ports, and thefirst port may be coupled to the connector. The power and digital datasignals may be carried using Frequency Division/Domain Multiplexing(FDM), where the communication signal may be carried over a frequencyband above and distinct from the power signal frequency or frequencyband, and the power/data splitter may be comprising an HPF between thefirst and second ports and a LPF between the first and third ports.Alternatively or in addition, the power/data splitter may comprise atransformer and a capacitor connected to the transformer windings. Thepower and digital data signals may be carried using a phantom scheme,and the power/data splitter may comprise at least two transformershaving a center-tap connection. The power and digital data signals maybe carried substantially according to IEEE 802.3af-2003 or IEEE802.3at-2009 standards.

Two devices out of the router, the first device, the second device, andthe Internet-connected control server may be operative for communicatingwith each other using two, three or more multiple data paths. Two, threeor more multiple data paths may be in part or fully distinct from eachother, or of the same type. The multiple data paths may be usingmultiple networks, and at least two out of the multiple networks may besimilar, identical, or different from each other. At least two out ofthe multiple networks may use similar, identical, or different networkmediums, and at least two out of the multiple networks may use similar,identical, or different protocols, or at least two out of the multiplenetworks may be coupled to using similar, identical, or differentphysical layers. In one example, one network may be a wired network andat least one other network may be a wireless network. In one example,one network may be based on conductive medium and at least one othernetwork may be based on non-conductive medium. The conductive medium maybe coaxial cable, twisted-pair, powerlines, or telephone lines, and thenon-conductive medium may be using RF, light or sound guided orover-the-air propagation. Two networks may be of different typesselected from NFC, PAN, LAN, MAN, and WAN. Two networks may usedifferent modulation schemes selected from AM, FM, and PM. Two networksmay use different duplexing schemes selected from half-duplex,full-duplex, and unidirectional. Two networks may use different linecodes or provide different data-rates. One network may be packet-basedand at least one other network may be circuit-switched. One network maybe a private network and at least one network may be public.

The router, the first device, the second device, or theInternet-connected control server, may be operative for communicatingwith another device in the system over multiple data paths. The router,the first device, the second device, or the Internet-connected controlserver, may comprise multiple network interfaces each associated with arespective data path and an associated data path network coupled to thenetwork interface, and each of the network interface may comprise atransceiver or a modem for transmitting digital data to, and receivingdigital data from, the respective network, and a network port forcoupling to the respective network. Two or all out of the networkinterfaces may be of the same type, two or all out of the networkinterfaces may use similar, identical, or different transceivers ormodems, and two or all out of the network interfaces may use similar,identical, or different network ports or connectors. Each of theconnectors may be a coaxial connector, a twisted-pair connector, an ACpower connector, a telephone connector.

One or more out of the data path networks may be based on anon-conductive medium, and each of the respective network ports may benon-conductive coupler such as an antenna, a light emitter, a lightdetector, a microphone, a speaker, and a fiber-optics connector. One ormore of the data path networks may be based on a conductive medium, andeach of the respective network port may be a connector, and one out ofthe data path networks may be based on a non-conductive medium, and therespective network port may be a non-conductive coupler. Two or more outof the modems may be of different scales such as NFC, PAN, LAN, MAN orWAN modems, may use different modulation schemes such as AM, FM, or PM,or may use different duplexing schemes such as half-duplex, full-duplex,or unidirectional. One of the modems may be packet-based and at leastother one may be circuit-switched. One (or more) network port may beused by two distinct network interfaces, designated as first and secondnetwork interfaces, and the first and second network interfaces may beoperative to communicate over the same network using FDM, where a firstnetwork interface may be using a first frequency band and the secondnetwork interface may be using a second frequency band, and the firstand second frequency bands may be distinct from each other or in part orin whole overlapping over each other. The first and second networkinterfaces may comprise a first and a second filters for substantiallypassing only signals in the first and second frequency bandsrespectively.

The router, the first device, the second device, or theInternet-connected control server, may be operative to send a packet toanother device via the one or more the network interfaces to be carriedover the one or more data paths, the packet comprising a source address,a destination address, an information type, and an information content.The same packet may be sent via two or more, or via all of the networkinterfaces. The packet may be sent via one of the network interfacesselected by a fixed, adaptive, or dynamic selection mechanism, which mayuse, or be based on, distinct number that may be assigned to each of thenetwork interfaces. The selection mechanism may be based on a cyclicselection, the network interfaces may be randomly selected, or thenetwork interfaces may be selected based on the packet source ordestination address. Alternatively or in addition, the assigned numbersmay represent priority levels associated with the network interfaces,and the network interface having the highest priority level may beselected. The assigned numbers may be based on the associated networkstypes or attributes or the performance history, or on the current orpast associated networks data rates, transfer delays, networks mediumsor networks mediums types, qualities, duplexing schemes, line codesusing, modulation schemes, switching mechanisms, throughputs, or usages.The one or more network interfaces may be selected based on the packetinformation type or based on the packet information content

The second device may comprise a first electrically actuated switchcoupled for connecting an electric signal to the actuator, and theelectrically actuated switch may be actuated in response to the controlcommands. The electric signal may be a power signal from a power source,and the first electrically actuated switch (‘normally open’ type,‘normally closed’ type, or a changeover type) may be coupled between thepower source and the actuator. The first electrically actuated switchmay be ‘make-before-break’ or ‘break-before-make’ type, may have two ormore poles or two or more throws, and the switch contacts may bearranged as a Single-Pole-Double-Throw (SPDT), Double-Pole-Double-Throw(DPDT), Double-Pole-Single-Throw (DPST), or Single-Pole-Changeover(SPCO). The first electrically actuated switch may be a latching ornon-latching type, solenoid-based electromagnetic relay such as a reedrelay. The relay may be solid-state or semiconductor based, such asSolid State Relay (SSR), or may be based on an electrical circuit suchas an open collector transistor, an open drain transistor, a thyristor,a TRIAC or an opto-isolator. The second device may comprise a secondelectrically actuated switch which may be connected in parallel or inseries with the first electrically actuated switch.

The first device, the second device, or the router, may be integrated inpart or entirely in an appliance. The appliance primary function may beassociated with food storage, handling, or preparation, such asmicrowave oven, an electric mixer, a stove, an oven, or an inductioncooker for heating food, or the appliance may be a refrigerator, afreezer, a food processor, a dishwashers, a food blender, a beveragemaker, a coffeemaker, or a iced-tea maker. The appliance primaryfunction may be associated with environmental control such astemperature control, and the appliance may consist of, or may be partof, an HVAC system, an air conditioner or a heater. The applianceprimary function may be associated with cleaning, such as washingmachine or clothes dryer for clothes cleaning, or a vacuum cleaner. Theappliance primary function may be associated with water control or waterheating. The appliance may be an answering machine, a telephone set, ahome cinema system, a HiFi system, a CD or DVD player, an electricfurnace, a trash compactor, a smoke detector, a light fixture, or adehumidifier. The appliance may be a handheld computing device or abattery-operated portable electronic device, such as a notebook orlaptop computer, a media player, a cellular phone, a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), an image processing device, a digital camera, or avideo recorder. The integration with the appliance may involve sharing acomponent such as housing in the same enclosure, sharing the sameconnector such as sharing a power connector for connecting to a powersource, where the integration involves sharing the same connector forbeing powered from the same power source. The integration with theappliance may involve sharing the same power supply, sharing the sameprocessor, mounting onto the same surface. The first device or thesecond device may be integrated with the router, such as being enclosedin the router housing.

One or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle) networks may be a BodyArea Network (BAN) according to, or based on, IEEE 802.15.6 standard,and the router, the first device, or the second device may comprise aBAN interface that may include a BAN port and a BAN transceiver. The BANmay be a Wireless BAN (WBAN), and the BAN port may be an antenna and theBAN transceiver may be a WBAN modem. Alternatively or in addition, theexternal network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be a Personal Area Network (PAN) according to, or based on,Bluetooth™ or IEEE 802.15.1-2005 standards, and the router, the firstdevice, or the second device may comprise a PAN interface, and the PANinterface may include a PAN port and a PAN transceiver. The PAN may be aWireless PAN (WPAN), and the PAN port may be an antenna and the PANtransceiver may be a WPAN modem. The WPAN may be a wireless controlnetwork according to, or based on, Zigbee™ or Z-Wave™ standards, such asIEEE 802.15.4-2003.

The external network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be a Local Area Network (LAN), and the router, the firstdevice, or the second device may comprise a LAN interface, and the LANinterface may include a LAN port and a LAN transceiver. The LAN may bean Ethernet-based wired LAN such as according to, or based on, IEEE802.3-2008 standard, and the LAN port may be a LAN connector and the LANtransceiver may be a LAN modem. The wired LAN medium may be based ontwisted-pair copper cables, and the LAN interface may be according to,or based on, 10Base-T, 100Base-T, 100Base-TX, 100Base-T2, 100Base-T4,1000Base-T, 1000Base-TX, 10GBase-CX4, or 10GBase-T, and the LANconnector may be according to, or based on, RJ-45 type. The wired LANmedium may be based on an optical fiber, and the LAN interface may beaccording to, or based on, 10Base-FX, 100Base-SX, 100Base-BX,100Base-LX10, 1000Base-CX, 1000Base-SX, 1000Base-LX, 1000Base-LX10,1000Base-ZX, 1000Base-BX10, 10GBase-SR, 10GBase-LR, 10GBase-LRM,10GBase-ER, 10GBase-ZR, or 10GBase-LX4, and the LAN connector may beaccording to, or based on, a fiber-optic connector. The LAN may be aWireless LAN (WLAN) such as according to, or base on, IEEE 802.11-2012,and the WLAN port may be a WLAN antenna and the WLAN transceiver may bea WLAN modem. The WLAN may be according to, or base on, IEEE 802.11a,IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac.

The external network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be a Home Network (HN), and the router, the first device,or the second device may comprise a HN interface that may includes a HNport and a HN transceiver. The HN may be a wired HN using a wired HNmedium, and the HN port may be an HN connector, and the HN transceivermay be an HN modem. The wired HN medium may comprise a wiring primarilyinstalled for carrying a service signal, and the wiring may be anin-wall wiring connected to by a wiring connector at a service outlet.The HN may be according to, or based on, a standard such as ITU-TRecommendation G.9954, ITU-T Recommendation G.9960, ITU-T RecommendationG.9970, IEEE 1901-2010, ITU-T Recommendation G.9961, or ITU-TRecommendation G.9972. The wiring may be a telephone wire pair, theservice signal may be an analog telephone signal (POTS), the wiringconnector may be a telephone connector, and the HN may be according to,or based on, HomePNA standard. Alternatively or in addition, the wiringmay be a coaxial cable, the service signal may be a Cable Television(CATV) signal, the wiring connector may be a coaxial connector, and theHN may be according to, or based on, Multimedia over Coax Alliance(MoCA) standard. The wiring may be an AC power wires, the service signalmay be an AC power signal, the wiring connector may be an AC powerconnector, and the HN may be according to, or based on, HomePlug™,HD-PLC, or Universal Powerline Association (UPA) standards.

The external network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be a Wide Area Network (WAN), and the router, the firstdevice, or the second device may comprise a WAN interface that mayinclude a WAN port and a WAN transceiver. The WAN may be a wired WAN,the WAN port may be a WAN connector, and the WAN transceiver may be aWAN modem. The wired WAN medium may comprise a wiring primarilyinstalled for carrying a service signal to or within the building orvehicle. The wired WAN medium may comprise one or more telephone wirepairs primarily designed for carrying an analog telephone signal, andthe external network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be based on Digital Subscriber Line/Loop (DSL) technology,such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) that may be accordingto, or based on, ANSI T1.413, ITU-T Recommendation G.992.1, or ITU-TRecommendation G.992.2, or ADSL2 that may be according to, or based on,ITU-T Recommendation G.992.3 or ITU-T Recommendation G.992.4. Theexternal network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be based on Digital Subscriber Line/Loop (DSL) technology,such as ADSL2+ that may be according to, or based on, ITU-TRecommendation G.992.5, or Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line(VDSL) that may be according to, or based on, ITU-T RecommendationG.993.1 or ITU-T Recommendation G.993.2.

The wired WAN medium may comprise AC power wires primarily designed forcarrying an AC power signal to, or within, the building (or vehicle),and the external network or one or more of the in-building (orin-vehicle) networks may be using Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) thatmay be according to, or based on, IEEE 1675-2008 or IEEE 1901-2010. Thewired WAN medium may comprise coaxial cable primarily designed forcarrying a CATV to, or within, the building (or vehicle), and thenetwork may be using Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification(DOCSIS), that may be according to, or based on, ITU-T RecommendationJ.112, ITU-T Recommendation J.122, or ITU-T Recommendation J.222. Thewired WAN medium may comprise an optical fiber, and the WAN connectormay be a fiber-optic connector, and the WAN may be based onFiber-To-The-Home (FTTH), Fiber-To-The-Building (FTTB),Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP), Fiber-To-The-Curb (FTTC), orFiber-To-The-Node (FTTN).

The WAN may be a wireless broadband network, and the WAN port may be anantenna and the WAN transceiver may be a wireless modem. The wirelessnetwork may be a satellite network, the antenna may be a satelliteantenna, and the wireless modem may be a satellite modem. The wirelessnetwork may be a WiMAX network such as according to, or based on, IEEE802.16-2009, the antenna may be a WiMAX antenna, and the wireless modemmay be a WiMAX modem. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, the antenna may be a cellular antenna, and the wireless modemmay be a cellular modem. The cellular telephone network may be a ThirdGeneration (3G) network and may use UMTS W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD,CDMA2000 1×RTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, or GSM EDGE-Evolution. The cellulartelephone network may be a Fourth Generation (4G) network and may useHSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or may be based on IEEE802.20-2008.

The external network or one or more of the in-building (or in-vehicle)networks may be a wireless network and may use a licensed or anunlicensed radio frequency band, such as the Industrial, Scientific andMedical (ISM) radio band. The external network or one or more of thein-building (or in-vehicle) networks may use unlicensed radio frequencyband that may be about 60 GHz, may be used for in-room (or in-vehicle)communication, may be based on beamforming, and may supports a data rateof above 7 Gb/s, and may be according to, or based on, WiGig™, IEEE802.11ad, WirelessHD™ or IEEE 80215.3c-2009, may be operative to carryuncompressed video data, and may be according to, or based on, WHDI™.The wireless network may use a white space spectrum that may be ananalog television channel consisting of a 6 MHz, 7 MHz or 8 MHzfrequency band, and allocated in the 54-806 MHz band. The wirelessnetwork may be operative for channel bonding, and may use two or moreanalog television channels, and may be based on Wireless Regional AreaNetwork (WRAN) standard, and the wireless communication may couple aBase Station (BS) and one or more CPEs, and the wireless communicationmay be based on OFDMA modulation. The router, the first device, thesecond device, or the external server may serve as BS. Alternatively orin addition, the router, the first device, the second device, or theexternal server may serve as a CPE. The wireless communication may bebased on geographically-based cognitive radio, and may be according to,or based on, IEEE 802.22 or IEEE 802.11af standards.

The wireless network may be based on, or according to, Near FieldCommunication (NFC) using passive or active communication mode, may usethe 13.56 MHz frequency band, and data rate may be 106 Kb/s, 212 Kb/s,or 424 Kb/s, and the modulation may be Amplitude-Shift-Keying (ASK). Thecommunication may be based on an NFC standard, and the wirelesscommunication may couple an initiator and a target, and the router mayserve as an initiator, and the first or second device may serve as atarget or transponder. Alternatively or in addition, the first or seconddevice, or the external server may serve as initiator or as a target orboth, and the wireless communication may be according to, or based on,ISO/IEC 18092, ECMA-340, ISO/IEC 21481, or ECMA-352. The externalnetwork or one or more of the in-building networks may be packet-basedor circuit switched network.

The router, the first device, the second device, the router, the controlserver, the sensor, the actuator, or any combination thereof, or anynetwork interface, port, or any component or sub-system of the devices,may be addressable in a digital data network, such as the in-building(or in-vehicle) network, one or more of the external networks, a WAN, aLAN, a PAN, a BAN, a home network, or the Internet. The devices may beaddressable using a digital address stored in a volatile or non-volatilememory in the respective device, uniquely identifying in the digitaldata network. The digital address may be a MAC layer address such asMAC-48, EUI-48, or EUI-64, or may be a layer 3 address such as static ordynamic IP address such as Pv4 or IPv6 type address. The digital addressmay be locally administered addresses or a universally administeredaddress that is assigned during manufacturing. The digital address maybe autonomously assigned by the addressed device or the address may beassigned by another device (e.g., using DHCP mechanism) via acommunication interface over the in-building (or in-vehicle) networks orthe external networks. The router, the first device, or the seconddevice may addressable in one or more digital data networks usingmultiple digital addresses, each associated with a respective networkinterface.

The control logic may be affecting a control loop for controlling thephenomenon. The control loop may be a closed control loop, and thesensor data may serve as a feedback to command the actuator. The controlloop may be a linear closed control loop and may be using proportional,integral, or derivative (or Proportional, Integral, and Derivative(PID)) of the loop deviation from a set-point or a reference. Thecontrol loop may use feed-forward, Bistable, fuzzy, Bang-Bang, orHysteretic control, or may use fuzzy control based on fuzzy logic.

In one aspect, an apparatus for coupling between an internal networkextending substantially within an enclosed environment (such as abuilding or a vehicle) and an external network, coupled to the Internetfor communication with a control server and extending substantiallyoutside the enclosed environment is disclosed. The apparatus may be usedwith (or include) a sensor disposed in the enclosed environment thatsenses a first condition in the enclosed environment and provides sensordata corresponding to the condition, and may be used with (or include)an actuator disposed to affect the first condition in the enclosedenvironment in response to received actuator commands. The apparatus maycomprise in a single enclosure a first port for coupling to the internalnetwork; a first modem coupled to the first port for communication overthe internal network; a second port for coupling to the externalnetwork; a second modem coupled to the second port for communicationover the external network; and a router coupled between the first andsecond modems so as to pass information between the internal andexternal networks, the router may be configured to deliver the sensordata from the internal network to the control server over the externalnetworks and to deliver the actuator commands from the control server tothe actuator over the internal network.

The apparatus may be a gateway, or may be operative for IP routing, NAT,DHCP, firewalling, parental control, rate converting, fault isolating,protocol converting or translating, or proxy serving. The apparatus maycomprise in the single enclosure an additional sensor that senses asecond condition that may be distinct from, or same as, the firstcondition, and may provide additional sensor data corresponding to thesecond condition, and the apparatus may transmit the additional sensordata to the control server over the external network, or over a networkdistinct from the external network. The apparatus may comprise in thesingle enclosure an additional actuator that affects a second conditionthat may be distinct from, or same as, the first condition, in responseto received additional actuator commands, and the apparatus may receivethe additional actuator commands from the control server over theexternal network or over a network distinct from the external network.

The apparatus may produce actuator commands in response to the sensordata according to control logic, and may deliver the actuator commandsto the actuator over the internal network. The control logic may affecta control loop for controlling the condition, and the control loop maybe a closed linear control loop where the sensor data serve as afeedback to command the actuator based on the loop deviation from asetpoint or a reference value that may be fixed, set by a user, or maybe time dependent. The closed control loop may be a proportional-based,an integral-based, a derivative-based, or a Proportional, Integral, andDerivative (PID) based control loop, and the control loop may usefeed-forward, Bistable, Bang-Bang, Hysteretic, or fuzzy logic basedcontrol. The control loop may be based on, or associated with,randomness based on random numbers; and the apparatus may comprise arandom number generator for generating random numbers that may behardware-based using thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decayingradiation, photoelectric effect, or quantum phenomena. Alternatively orin addition, the random number generator may be software-based and mayexecute an algorithm for generating pseudo-random numbers. The apparatusmay couple to, or comprise in the single enclosure, an additional sensorresponsive to a third condition distinct from the first or secondconditions, and the setpoint may be dependent upon the output of theadditional sensor.

The apparatus may communicate over an outlet connected in-wall wiringused by the internal or the external network as a network medium. Thesingle enclosure may consist of, comprise, or may be integrated with,the outlet or a plug-in module pluggable to the outlet. The outlet maybe a telephone, LAN, AC power, or CATV outlet, and the in-wall wiringmay respectively be a telephone wire pair, a LAN cable, an AC powercable, or a CATV coaxial cable, and the first or second modem may beoperative to respectively communicate over the telephone wire pair, theLAN cable, the AC power cable, or the CATV coaxial cable. The in-wallwiring may carry a power signal, and the apparatus may at least in partbe powered from the power signal. The sensor may be a photosensitiveimage sensor array comprising multiple photoelectric sensors, forcapturing an image and producing electronic image informationrepresenting the image, and the apparatus may comprise an imageprocessor coupled to the image sensor for providing a digital video datasignal that may carry digital video data based on the captured images,and may use a digital video format that may be based on one out of: TIFF(Tagged Image File Format), RAW format, AVI, DV, MOV, WMV, MP4, DCF(Design Rule for Camera Format), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264,ITU-T CCIR 601, ASF, Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format), and DPOF(Digital Print Order Format) standards. The apparatus may comprise anintraframe or interframe compression based video compressor coupled tothe image sensor for lossy or non-lossy compressing the digital videodata, and the compression may be based on a standard compressionalgorithm which may be JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and MPEG(Moving Picture Experts Group), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264,or ITU-T CCIR 601. The apparatus may calculate or provide aspace-dependent characteristic of the sensed condition, such as apattern, a linear density, a surface density, a volume density, a fluxdensity, a current, a direction, a rate of change in a direction, or aflow, of the condition.

The internal or external network may use a cable carrying acommunication signal, and the first or second port may consist of aconnector for connecting to the cable, and the cable may be connectableto simultaneously carry a DC or AC power signal and the communicationsignal. The apparatus may supply at least in part of the power signal ormay be at least in part powered from the power signal. The power signalmay be carried over dedicated wires in the cable, and the wires maydistinct from the wires in the cable carrying the communication signal.Alternatively or in addition, the power signal and the communicationsignal may be concurrently carried over the same wires in the cable, andthe apparatus may comprise a power/data splitter arrangement havingfirst, second and third ports, where only the communication signal maybe passed between the first and second ports, and only the power signalmay be passed between the first and third ports, and the first port maybe coupled to the connector. The power and communication signals may becarried using Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), where the powersignal may be carried over a power signal frequency or a power frequencyband, and the communication signal may be carried over a frequency bandabove and distinct from the power signal frequency or the powerfrequency band, and the power/data splitter may consist or comprise anHPF between the first and second ports and a LPF between the first andthird ports. Alternatively or in addition, the power/data splitter maycomprise a transformer and a capacitor connected to the transformerwindings. Alternatively or in addition, the power and digital datasignals may be carried using a phantom scheme and the power/datasplitter may comprise at least two transformers having a center-tapconnection. Alternatively or in addition, the power and digital datasignals may be carried substantially or entirely according to IEEE802.3af-2003 or IEEE 802.3at-2009 standards.

The second port and the second modem may consist of (or be part of) afirst network interface, for use with an additional external network andfor communicating with the control server over multiple data paths. Theapparatus may comprise a second network interface consisting of a thirdport for coupling to the additional external network, and a third modemcoupled to the third port for communication over the additional externalnetwork. The first and second network interfaces may be of a same type,the external network interface may be based on a conductive medium, andthe second port may be a connector that may be a coaxial connector, atwisted-pair connector, an AC power connector, or a telephone connector.Alternatively or in addition, the external network may use anon-conductive medium, and the second port may be a non-conductivecoupler that may be an antenna, a light emitter, a light detector, amicrophone, a speaker, or a fiber-optics connector. Alternatively or inaddition, the external network may be based on conductive medium, thesecond port may be a connector, the additional external network may bebased on a non-conductive medium, and the third port may be anon-conductive coupler. The second and third modems may be of differentscales such as NFC, PAN, LAN, MAN or WAN modems, the second and thirdmodems may use different modulation schemes such as AM, FM, or PM, thesecond and third modems may use different duplexing schemes such ashalf-duplex, full-duplex, or unidirectional, the second modem may bepacket-based and the third modem may be circuit-switched, or the secondport and the third port may be the same port used by both the first andsecond network interfaces. Alternatively or in addition, the first andsecond network interfaces may be operative to communicate over a samenetwork using FDM, where the first network interface may be using afirst frequency band and the second network interface may be using asecond frequency band, that may be overlapping or non-overlapping withthe first frequency band.

The first port and the first modem may consist of (or be part of) athird network interface, for use with an additional internal network andfor communicating with the control server over multiple data paths. Theapparatus may comprise a fourth network interface consisting of a fourthport for coupling to the additional external network, and a fourth modemcoupled to the fourth port for communication over the additionalinternal network. The third and fourth network interfaces may be of asame type, the external network interface may be based on a conductivemedium, and the second port may be a connector that may be a coaxialconnector, a twisted-pair connector, an AC power connector, or atelephone connector. Alternatively or in addition, the external networkmay use a non-conductive medium, and the second port may be anon-conductive coupler that may be an antenna, a light emitter, a lightdetector, a microphone, a speaker, or a fiber-optics connector.Alternatively or in addition, the internal network may be based onconductive medium, the first port may be a connector, the additionalinternal network may be based on a non-conductive medium, and the fourthport may be a non-conductive coupler. The first and fourth modems may beNFC, PAN, LAN, MAN or WAN modems, the first and fourth modems may usedifferent modulation schemes such as AM, FM, or PM, the first and fourthmodems may use different duplexing schemes such as half-duplex,full-duplex, or unidirectional, the first modem may be packet-based andthe fourth modem may be circuit-switched, or the first port and thefourth port may be the same port used by both the third and fourthnetwork interfaces. Alternatively or in addition, the third and fourthnetwork interfaces may be operative to communicate over a same networkusing FDM, where the third network interface may be using a firstfrequency band and the fourth network interface may be using a secondfrequency band, that may be overlapping or non-overlapping with thefirst frequency band.

The apparatus may send a packet to the control server via the networkinterfaces carried over two distinct data paths. The packet may comprisea source address, a destination address, an information type, andinformation content. The packet may be sent via the network interfaces(or both) selected by a fixed, adaptive, or dynamic selection mechanism.A distinct number may be assigned to each of the network interfaces, andthe selection mechanism may use, or be based on, the assigned numbersthat may represent priority levels associated with the networkinterfaces, and the network interface having the highest priority levelmay be selected. The network interfaces may be alternately or randomlyselected. The assigned numbers may be based on the associated networktypes, attributes, or their performance history. Alternatively or inaddition, the assigned numbers may be based on the current or pastassociated network data rates, transfer delays, networks mediums ornetwork medium types, qualities, duplexing schemes, line codes,modulation schemes, switching mechanisms, throughputs, or usages.Alternatively or in addition, a network interface may be selected basedon the packet source address, based on the packet destination address,based on the packet information type, or based on the packet informationcontent.

The sensor transfer function may be characterized as S(s), the actuatortransfer function may be characterized as C(s), the actuator command maybe characterized as A(s), and the sensor data may be characterized asF(s). The apparatus may analyze the sensor data versus the actuatorcommands, such as calculating of F(s)/[S(s)*A(s)*C(s)], and may use theanalysis to estimate or to determine a condition characteristic orparameter. The apparatus may periodically initiate and transmit actuatorcommands, and analyzes the sensor data versus the transmitted actuatorcommands. The apparatus may be integrated in part or entirely in anappliance.

The internal network may be a Body Area Network (BAN), a Personal AreaNetwork (PAN), or a Local Area Network (LAN), the first port mayrespectively be a BAN, PAN, or LAN port, and the first modem mayrespectively be a BAN, PAN, or LAN modem. The LAN may be a wired LANusing a wired LAN medium; the LAN port may be a LAN connector; and theLAN transceiver may be a LAN modem. The LAN may be Ethernet based; andthe wired LAN may be according to, or based on, IEEE 802.3-2008standard. The external network may be a packet-based or acircuit-switched-based Wide Area Network (WAN), the second port may be aWAN port, and the second modem may be a WAN transceiver.

The enclosed environment may be a vehicle and the single enclosure maybe attachable to the vehicle body. The apparatus may communicate withanother vehicle or with a roadside unit external to the vehicle over theexternal network, and the condition may be in the vehicle, external tothe vehicle, or associated with surroundings around the vehicle. Thevehicle may be a bicycle, a car, a motorcycle, a train, a ship, anaircraft, a boat, a spacecraft, a boat, a submarine, a dirigible, anelectric scooter, a subway, a train, a trolleybus, a tram, a sailboat, ayacht, or an airplane. The apparatus may be coupled to monitor orcontrol an Engine Control Unit (ECU), a Transmission Control Unit (TCU),an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), or Body Control Modules (BCM) of anautomobile. The internal network may be a vehicle bus that may beaccording to, or based on, Control Area Network (CAN) or LocalInterconnect Network (LIN). The vehicle may comprise an On-BoardDiagnostics (OBD) system, and the apparatus may be coupled to orintegrated with the OBD system, and may communicate to the controlserver an information regarding fuel and air metering, ignition system,misfire, auxiliary emission control, vehicle speed and idle control,transmission, on-board computer, fuel level, relative throttle position,ambient air temperature, accelerator pedal position, air flow rate, fueltype, oxygen level, fuel rail pressure, engine oil temperature, fuelinjection timing, engine torque, engine coolant temperature, intake airtemperature, exhaust gas temperature, fuel pressure, injection pressure,turbocharger pressure, boost pressure, exhaust pressure, exhaust gastemperature, engine run time, NOx sensor, manifold surface temperature,or a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

The system may be used to measure, sense, or analyze the changes overtime of an environment, a phenomenon, or any controlled item. Themeasured item may be characterized by a transfer function P(s) impactedby an actuator (characterized as C(s)) and sensed by a sensor S(s). Bygenerating or excitation of an actuator command A(s) and measuring theresulting sensor output F(s), the control logic or the system in generalmay measure, sense, estimate, or analyze the behavior or characteristicby analyzing or calculating P(s)=F(s)/[S(s)*A(s)*C(s)]. The calculationmay be used to sense or measure a phenomenon that is not (or cannot be)directly measured or sensed by using a dedicated corresponding sensor,or as a sensor data for other control loops in the system, for setpointadjustment of other control loop, or used for user notification. Thecontrol logic may initiate such measurement cycle periodically, uponpower up, upon a user control (for example via a user device), or aspart of a regular control.

In one aspect, a control system is disclosed, comprising a sensordisposed in an enclosed environment such as a building or a vehicle,that senses a condition in the enclosed environment and provides sensorresponse signals corresponding to the condition; an internal networkextending substantially within the enclosed environment; an externalnetwork, coupled to the Internet, extending substantially outside theenclosed environment; a control server, disposed outside the enclosedenvironment, coupled to the Internet, the server receiving sensor datacorresponding to the sensor response signals and executing control logictherein so as to generate actuator commands responsive to the receivedsensor data; a router coupled to the internal and external networks soas to pass information between the internal and external networks, andconfigured to deliver the sensor data from the internal to the externalnetworks and to deliver the actuator commands from the external to theinternal networks; and an actuator disposed within the enclosedenvironment, receiving the actuator commands from the router, theactuator operative to affect the condition in the enclosed environment.

The sensor transfer function may be characterized as S(s), the actuatortransfer function may be characterized as C(s), the actuator command maybe characterized as A(s), and the sensor data may be characterized asF(s). The control server is operative to analyze the sensor data versusthe transmitted actuator commands, such as the calculating ofF(s)/[S(s)*A(s)*C(s)]. The analysis may be used to estimate or determinea phenomenon characteristics or parameter, and may be used as anadditional sensor data by the system or the control logic. The controllogic may be operative for periodically initiating actuator commands andanalyzing the sensor data versus the transmitted actuator commands.

The above summary is not an exhaustive list of all aspects of thepresent invention. Indeed, the inventor contemplates that his inventionincludes all systems and methods that can be practiced from all suitablecombinations and derivatives of the various aspects summarized above, aswell as those disclosed in the detailed description below andparticularly pointed out in the claims filed with the application. Suchcombinations have particular advantages not specifically recited in theabove summary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of non-limiting examples only,with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like designationsdenote like elements. Understanding that these drawings only provideinformation concerning typical embodiments of the invention and are nottherefore to be considered limiting in scope:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a home networksystem with a dedicated hardware-based gateway;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a system with acloud based gateway;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of multiple cloudgateways serving several houses;

FIG. 3a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a single cloudgateway serving several houses;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a router connectedto a cloud-based gateway;

FIG. 4a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a router connectedto multiple cloud-based gateways;

FIG. 4b illustrates the data paths and a schematic electrical diagram ofa router connected to multiple cloud-based gateways;

FIG. 4c illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a router connectedto a cloud-based gateway via multiple ISPs;

FIG. 4d illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a router connectedto a cloud-based gateway via an ISP;

FIG. 4e illustrates the data paths and a schematic electrical diagram ofmultiple routers connected to multiple cloud-based gateways via multipledata paths;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a sensor unit;

FIG. 5a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a currentmeasuring sensor unit;

FIG. 5b illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an AC currentmeasuring sensor unit;

FIG. 5c illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of multiple sensorunits for sensing the same phenomenon;

FIG. 5d illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a sensor unithaving multiple sensors for sensing the same phenomenon;

FIG. 5e illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a sensor unithaving multiple AC current sensors for sensing the same AC current;

FIG. 5f illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an image sensorbased sensor unit;

FIG. 5g illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a sensor unithaving two communication ports;

FIG. 5h illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a system includinga field unit having two communication ports;

FIG. 5i illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a system includinga field unit having two communication ports and coupled to two networks;

FIG. 5j illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of data paths in asystem including a field unit having two communication ports and coupledto two networks;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an actuator unit;

FIG. 6a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an electricalswitch actuator unit;

FIG. 6b illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an AC electricalswitch actuator unit;

FIG. 6c illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of multiple actuatorunits affecting the same phenomenon;

FIG. 6d illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an actuator unithaving multiple actuators affecting the same phenomenon;

FIG. 6e illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an actuator unithaving multiple AC power switches connected in series;

FIG. 6f illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an actuator unithaving multiple AC power switches connected in parallel;

FIG. 6g illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of an actuator unithaving two communication ports;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a sensor/actuatorunit;

FIG. 7a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a power controlfield unit;

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of remote poweringscheme of a field unit;

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of FDM power/datasignals combining/splitting circuit;

FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of FDM power/datasignals combining/splitting circuit using capacitor and transformer;

FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of phantom schemepower/data signals combining/splitting circuit;

FIG. 12 depicts schematically a few food-related home appliances;

FIG. 12a depicts schematically a few cleaning-related home appliancesand digital cameras;

FIG. 13 illustrates schematically a general computer system connected tothe Internet;

FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a controllerintegrated with a router;

FIG. 14a illustrates the data paths and a schematic electrical diagramof a controller integrated with a router;

FIG. 15 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a controllerintegrated with a server;

FIG. 15a illustrates the data paths and a schematic electrical diagramof a controller integrated with a server;

FIG. 16 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a controllerintegrated with a personal computer;

FIG. 16a illustrates the data paths and a schematic electrical diagramof a controller integrated with a personal computer;

FIG. 17 illustrates a schematic flow-chart diagram of a generalcontroller;

FIG. 18 illustrates a schematic flow-chart diagram of a controllerinvolving image processing; and

FIG. 19 illustrates a schematic flow-chart diagram of a controllerinvolving voice processing;

FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a system includingfield units external to a building;

FIG. 20a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a data pathbetween a field unit external to a building and a router in thebuilding;

FIG. 20b illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a data pathbetween a field unit located external to a building and a control orgateway server;

FIG. 20c illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a data path overthe Internet between a field unit external to a building and a router inthe building;

FIG. 20d illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a data path overthe Internet between a field unit located external to a building and acontrol or gateway server;

FIG. 21 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of part of a devicehaving multiple network interfaces;

FIG. 22 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of part of a devicehaving wired and wireless network interfaces;

FIG. 22a illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of part of a devicehaving a wireless network interfaces and two wired interfaces connectedto the same network;

FIG. 22b illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of part of a devicehaving a wireless network interfaces and two wired interfaces connectedto the same network using FDM;

FIG. 23 illustrates a schematic flow-chart diagram of packet handling ina device having multiple network interfaces;

FIG. 24 illustrates a schematic electrical diagram of a vehicle-basedsystem communicating with a cloud based gateway;

FIG. 25 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a control system;

FIG. 25a illustrates a schematic block diagram of a closed loop controlsystem; and

FIG. 26 illustrates a timing diagram relating to a closed loop controlsystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The principles and operation of an apparatus according to the presentinvention may be understood with reference to the figures and theaccompanying description wherein similar components appearing indifferent figures are denoted by identical reference numerals. Thedrawings and descriptions are conceptual only. In actual practice, asingle component can implement one or more functions; alternatively orin addition, each function can be implemented by a plurality ofcomponents and devices. In the figures and descriptions, identicalreference numerals indicate those components that are common todifferent embodiments or configurations. Identical numerical references(even in the case of using different suffix, such as 5, 5 a, 5 b and 5c) refer to functions or actual devices that are either identical,substantially similar, or having similar functionality. It will bereadily understood that the components of the present invention, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of theapparatus, system, and method of the present invention, as representedin the figures herein, is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention, as claimed, but is merely representative of embodiments ofthe invention. It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,”and “the” herein include plural referents unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a componentsurface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces. By the term“substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter,or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations orvariations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error,measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those ofskill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effectthe characteristic was intended to provide.

Environment control networks are networks of sensors and controllerwhich provide an optimized solution for an environment control. Theenvironment can be a house, agricultural farm, city traffic systems etc.The sensors will provide information on the environmental conditions andevents. The controller will allow automatic control or control by theuser via the Internet. The system can allow automatic control upondetection of certain conditions or events. The lights can be turned onwhen a motion is detected in a room. The electricity may be turned offupon a fire and the water off upon a flood. The heating may be adjustedbased on internet information on the weather or information on neighborbehavior. Users may be warned of problems in neighboring homes. Themotion sensors can be adjusted to be more sensitive upon a detection ofa security problem in a home nearby.

For an agricultural farm there can be a field network and cattlehandling network. In the field, there can be a temperature sensor,ground humidity sensor. The irrigation system may be adjustedaccordingly. It can also be impacted by cloud server information of lastweek rainfall and weather forecast. The cattle feeding system can usemeasurements of the cow weight, food left and cloud server informationon weather forecast and cattle diseases. For the system, a network canbe used for the transportation system of traffic lights and road sign.

FIG. 2 shows an arrangement 20 including a residence 19 which may beconnected via the Internet 16 to many multiple servers. For non-limitingexample, the gateway server 24 (corresponding to gateway server 48described below) may be associated with a specific premises 19. In thepremises 19 there may be multiple internal networks, such as homenetwork 14 a connecting the desktop computer 18 a and a home device 15a, and other connected equipment may as well be connected. Similarly,home network 14 b is shown connecting desktop computer 18 b and a homedevice 15 b, and other connected equipment may as well be connected. Acontrol network 22 may be used, connecting field units 23 a, 23 b and 23c. Each of the field units 23 may correspond to a sensor unit 50,actuator unit 60, or a sensor/actuator unit 70 described below. Thecontrol network may be a ZigBee based sensor network. A router 21,corresponding with router 49 described below, is connected, via suitableports, to the various networks in the residence 19, and allowscommunication between devices in one or all of the networks, between thenetworks in the residence 19, and provides external connection to theInternet 16, typically via a WAN network. While three internal networks22, 14 a and 14 b are shown in arrangement 20, one, two, four, or anynumber of such internal networks may be equally deployed. The variousnetworks inside the premises 19 may be the same, similar or different.For non-limiting example, the same or different network mediums may beused, such as wired or wireless networks, and the same or differentnetwork protocols may be used. Further, each of the networks may be aLAN (Local Area Network), a WLAN (Wireless LAN), a PAN (Personal AreaNetwork), or a WPAN (Wireless PAN).

In one non-limiting example, where multiple premises 19 are involved,each of the premises 19 is associated with a single and dedicatedgateway server 24 (referred herein also as ‘cloud server’ and ‘controlserver’). Such scenario is exampled in an arrangement 35 shown in FIG.3. Three premises 19 a, 19 b, and 19 c, each respectively having routers21 a, 21 b, and 21 c, are connected via the Internet 16 to be served bythree respective gateway servers 24 a, 24 b, and 24 c. While threehouses 19 are exampled in FIG. 3, any number of premises 19 may beequally employed.

Alternatively or in addition, two, three or more premises 19 may share asingle gateway server 24, as exampled in arrangement 30 in FIG. 3a ,where three premises 19 a, 19 b, and 19 c, each respectively havingrouters 21 a, 21 b, and 21 c, are connected via the Internet 16 to asingle gateway server 24.

Part or the entire of gateway functionalities in general, or part or theentire of Residential Gateway (RG) (a.k.a. home gateway) functionalitiesin particular, may be implemented in the router 21, serving as gateway11 above, for example the gateway and the functionalities described inU.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0112939 to Wilson et al., entitled:“System and Method for Home Automation”, and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,061to Hite et al., entitled: “Internet Control System and Method”, whichare both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein. Alternatively or in addition, part or the entire of thegateway functionalities may be moved onto the gateway server 24.Further, part or the entire of the gateway functionalities may beimplemented by another entity in the building, such as the PC 18 a, homedevice 15 b, or a field unit 23. Furthermore, the gatewayfunctionalities may be distributed and implemented by a combination ofthe gateway server 24, router 21, PC 18 a, home device 15 b, or a fieldunit 23, where each of the devices implements none, one, or a subset ofthe gateway functionalities, such as IP routing, VoIP, NAT, DHCP,firewall, parental control, rate converter, fault isolation, protocolconversion/translation/mapping, or proxy server. The router 21 mayfurther be according to, or based on, the white paper entitled: “HomeGateway” by Wipro Technologies, or may be according to, or based on, theHome Gateway Initiative (HGI) documents entitled: “Home GatewayTechnical Requirements: Residential Profile”, Version 1.0, HGI guidelinepaper entitled: “Remote Access” Version 1.01, and HGI document entitled:“Requirements for an energy efficient home gateway” HGI-RD009-R3, whichare all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an arrangement 49including a router 40. The router 40 serves an intermediary device forallowing communication between the various in home networks, such aswireless sensor network and a home network, and between the in-homedevices and one (or more) server via the Internet 16. Coupling to eachnetwork commonly involves a port and a transceiver (which may be amodem) adapted for communication over the network medium. The connectionto the Internet or to any other network external to the premises mayinclude one or more WAN interfaces. A wired connection to the Internetmay include a connector 41 a connected to a wired modem 42 a. In case ofa wireless interface, the connector 41 a is substituted with an antennaand the wired modem 42 a is substituted with a suitable wireless modem(or a transceiver). Similarly, each connection to any premises internalnetwork includes one or more interfaces. A wired connection to aninternal network (e.g., wired home network) may include a connector 41 bconnected to a wired modem 42 b. A wireless connection to an internalnetwork (e.g., wireless sensor network) may include an antenna 44connected to a wireless modem 43.

The router 40 commonly includes a microprocessor executing a firmwareembedded in the device. However, a router may include whole or part of acomputer such as the computer 130 shown in FIG. 13 below. The router 40may include part or all of the functionalities associated with aconventional router in general, and home router in particular. The basicfunctionality of a packet router is the act of moving information acrossan internetwork from a source to a destination, based on the addressesembedded in the packets, performed by the routing core 45. Commonly arouter supports OSI Layer 3 (the Network Layer), but may also supportbridging functionality at OSI Layer 2 (the Link Layer). The routercommonly uses headers and forwarding tables to determine the best pathfor forwarding the data packets, and they also use protocols such asICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route betweenany two hosts. The router may also support NAT (Network AddressTranslation), allowing multiple devices to share a single IP address onthe Internet. Internet connection sharing routers may also support anSPI firewall and may serve as a DHCP Server. The wireless router mayalso provide features relevant to wireless security such as WiFiProtected Access (WPA) and wireless MAC address filtering. Additionally,the wireless router may be configured for “invisible mode” so that theinternal wireless network cannot be scanned by outside wireless clients.However, the router 40 may support also part of, or whole of a gatewayrelated functionalities, and in particular a home gateway (‘residentialgateway’) typical functionalities. The router 40 may convert betweendifferent protocols of the interconnected networks, and typicallydirects the packets between networks based on a routing table or routingpolicy, which are built to offer the preferred routes.

FIG. 4 further shows a typical connection of premises to a gatewayserver 48 a via the Internet 16. The router 40 connects via a WAN port,such as the connector 41 a to a WAN (Wide Area Network) 46 a, to an ISP(Internet Service Provider) 47 a. The ISP 47 a connects to the gatewayserver 48 a via the Internet 16.

The ISP 47 a is commonly a company that provides Internet services,including personal and business access to the Internet. For a monthlyfee, the service provider usually provides a software package, username,password and access phone number. Access ISPs directly connect clientsto the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections.Hosting ISPs lease server space for small businesses and other people(collocation). Hosting ISPs routinely provide email, FTP, andweb-hosting services. Other services include virtual machines, clouds,or entire physical servers where customers can run their own customsoftware. Transit ISPs provide large amounts of bandwidth for connectinghosting ISPs to access ISPs.

In order to increase reliability and availability of the external systeminvolving the connection of the premises to the gateway server, aredundancy may be used, relating to the duplication of criticalcomponents or functions of a system with the intention of increasingreliability of the system, usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe.A non-limiting example of implementation of such redundancy is shown asarrangement 49 a in FIG. 4a . In addition to the router 40 a connectionto the gateway server 48 a via the ISP 47 a and the WAN 46 a, the router40 a is also connected to another ISP 47 b (or different systems of thesame ISP) via WAN 46 b, connected via a wireless modem 43 a and antenna44 a. The ISP 47 b in turn connects to the gateway server 48 b via theInternet 16. In one non-limiting example, the hardware and software (orfirmware), as well as the communication medium, associated with thecommunication route relating to the connection to the gateway server 48a are distinct and different from the hardware, software (or firmware),and the communication medium of the communication route used forconnecting the router 40 a to the gateway server 48 b. The two formedroutes, designated as routes 400 a and 400 b in arrangement 49 b shownin FIG. 4b , are thus independent, hence in the case of any failure inone of the communication routes, the other route may still provide therequired connection and the system functionality is preserved, thus asingle point of failure (SPOF) therein renders the system fullyfunctional. While two independent routes are shown in FIG. 4a , three ormore routes may be equally used, further enhancing the reliability andavailability of the system. For each additional route, preferably a portand associated modem is added to the router 40 a, for communication witha gateway server via additional WAN and additional ISP.

While router 40 a was exampled in FIG. 4a to include one wired WANconnection (connector 41 a and wired modem 42 a) and one wireless WANconnection (antenna 44 a and wireless modem 43 a), any two (or more) WANconnections may be used, and the WAN connections may be identical,similar or different from each other. Further, one or more of the WANs46 a and 46 b may be replaced with a LAN, WLAN, or any other networkallowing for connection to a gateway server 48 over the Internet 16, orover any other network.

In one non-limiting example, only part of the communication routes andthe associated hardware and/or software (such as routes 400 a and 400 b)are redundant, and part of the route is not redundant, allowing for moreeconomical solution, where the reliability is increased only for part ofthe system. In one non-limiting example shown as arrangement 49 c inFIG. 4c , a single gateway server 48 a is used, connected to the router40 a via two independent communication routes. In another non-limitingexample shown as arrangement 49 d in FIG. 4d , a single gateway server48 a connected via a single ISP 47 a are used. The ISP 47 a is connectedto the router 40 a via two independent communication routes.

In one non-limiting example, two routers 40 are redundantly used forimproving reliability and availability. Such an arrangement 49 e inshown in FIG. 4e , showing a premises 19 a including two separated andindependent routers 40 a and 40 b, each connected via independentcommunication route. The router 40 a is connected via communicationroute 400 d, corresponding to route 400 b in arrangement 49 b shown inFIG. 4b , while the router 40 b is connected via communication route 400c, corresponding to route 400 a in arrangement 49 b shown in FIG. 4b .In the case of malfunction of one of the routers 40 a and 40 b, theother router is still available through its route. Alternatively or inaddition, a single gateway server 48 a may be used, similar to thearrangement 49 c shown in FIG. 4c , the two routers 40 a and 40 b may beconnected via a dedicated communication link (either wired or wireless),or may be interconnected via one of the networks in the premises 19 a.Preferably, each of the routers 40 a and 40 b is able to communicatewith all internal networks and end-units in the premises. Alternativelyor in addition, each router is connected to separate networks.Alternatively or in addition, some networks (and associated end-units)may be connected to both routers 40 a and 40 b, while other networksconnect only to one of the routers. In the case of an internal meshnetwork, each of the routers 40 a and 40 b may be connected to adifferent point in the mesh, such as communicating with differentdevices forming the mesh network.

The operation of the redundant communication routes may be based onstandby redundancy, (a.k.a. Backup Redundancy), where one of the datapaths or the associated hardware is considered as a primary unit, andthe other data path (or the associated hardware) is considered as thesecondary unit, serving as back up to the primary unit. The secondaryunit typically does not monitor the system, but is there just as aspare. The standby unit is not usually kept in sync with the primaryunit, so it must reconcile its input and output signals on the takeoverof the communication. This approach does lend itself to give a “bump” ontransfer, meaning the secondary operation may not be in sync with thelast system state of the primary unit. Such mechanism may require awatchdog, which monitors the system to decide when a switchovercondition is met, and command the system to switch control to thestandby unit. Standby redundancy configurations commonly employ twobasic types, namely ‘Cold Standby’ and ‘Hot Standby’.

In cold standby, the secondary unit is either powered off or otherwisenon-active in the system operation, thus preserving the reliability ofthe unit. The drawback of this design is that the downtime is greaterthan in hot standby, because the standby unit needs to be powered up oractivated, and brought online into a known state.

In hot standby, the secondary unit is powered up or otherwise keptoperational, and can optionally monitor the system. The secondary unitmay serve as the watchdog and/or voter to decide when to switch over,thus eliminating the need for an additional hardware for this job. Thisdesign does not preserve the reliability of the standby unit as well asthe cold standby design. However, it shortens the downtime, which inturn increases the availability of the system. Some flavors of HotStandby are similar to Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) or ParallelRedundancy. The main difference between Hot Standby and DMR is howtightly the primary and the secondary are synchronized. DMR completelysynchronizes the primary and secondary units.

While a redundancy of two was exampled above, where two data paths andtwo hardware devices were used, a redundancy involving three or moredata paths or systems may be equally used. The term ‘N’ ModularRedundancy, (a.k.a. Parallel Redundancy) refers to the approach ofhaving multiply units or data paths running in parallel. All units arehighly synchronized and receive the same input information at the sametime. Their output values are then compared and a voter decides whichoutput values should be used. This model easily provides bumplessswitchovers. This model typically has faster switchover times than HotStandby models, thus the system availability is very high, but becauseall the units are powered up and actively engaged with the systemoperation, the system is at more risk of encountering a common modefailure across all the units.

Deciding which unit is correct can be challenging if only two units areused. If more than two units are used, the problem is simpler, usuallythe majority wins or the two that agree win. In N Modular Redundancy,there are three main typologies: Dual Modular Redundancy, Triple ModularRedundancy, and Quadruple Redundancy. Quadruple Modular Redundancy (QMR)is fundamentally similar to TMR but using four units instead of three toincrease the reliability. The obvious drawback is the 4× increase insystem cost.

Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) uses two functional equivalent units, thuseither can control or support the system operation. The most challengingaspect of DMR is determining when to switch over to the secondary unit.Because both units are monitoring the application, a mechanism is neededto decide what to do if they disagree. Either a tiebreaker vote orsimply the secondary unit may be designated as the default winner,assuming it is more trustworthy than the primary unit. Triple ModularRedundancy (TMR) uses three functionally equivalent units to provide aredundant backup. This approach is very common in aerospace applicationswhere the cost of failure is extremely high. TMR is more reliable thanDMR due to two main aspects. The most obvious reason is that two“standby” units are used instead of just one. The other reason is thatin a technique called diversity platforms or diversity programming maybe applied. In this technique, different software or hardware platformsare used on the redundant systems to prevent common mode failure. Thevoter decides which unit will actively control the application. WithTMR, the decision of which system to trust is made democratically andthe majority rules. If three different answers are obtained, the votermust decide which system to trust or shut down the entire system, thusthe switchover decision is straightforward and fast.

Another redundancy topology is 1:N Redundancy, where a single backup isused for multiple systems, and this backup is able to function in theplace of any single one of the active systems. This technique offersredundancy at a much lower cost than the other models by using onestandby unit for several primary units. This approach only works wellwhen the primary units all have very similar functions, thus allowingthe standby to back up any of the primary units if one of them fails.

While the redundant data paths have been exampled with regard to theadded reliability and availability, redundant data paths may as well beused in order to provide higher aggregated data rate, allowing forfaster response and faster transfer of data over the multiple datapaths.

Referring now to FIG. 5 where a non-limiting example of a sensor unit 50is shown. The sensor unit 50 includes two sensor elements 51 a and 51 b.In the case of analog sensors having an analog signal output, such asanalog voltage, analog current or continuously changing impedance, ananalog to digital (A/D) is disposed to the sensor element 51 output,which converts continuous signals to discrete digital numbers, forconverting the analog output to a digital signal. The sensor 51 a outputis connected to the input of A/D 52 a, and the sensor 51 b output isconnected to the input of A/D 52 b. While two sensors 51 a and 51 b areshown, a sensor unit may equally include a single sensor or any numberof sensors, where A/D may be connected to each analog sensor output. Acomputer 53, commonly a small size microprocessor, is connected to theA/D 52 a and 52 b, and receives the values representing the sensedcondition by the sensors 51 a and 51 b. The computer 53 further controland manage the operation of the sensor unit 50. The sensor unitwirelessly communicates via the antenna 55, connected to the wirelessmodem 54 (or a wireless transceiver). The computer 53 may thuscommunicate with any gateway, router, or other sensor unit via thewireless communication. While exampled using wireless such asover-the-air communication, the sensor unit 50 may equally use wiredcommunication such as using wires or a cable, where the modem 54 isreplaced with a wired modem (or a transceiver) and the antenna 55 isreplaced with a connector for connecting to the cable or wires. Thesensor elements may be identical, similar or different from each other.For non-limiting example, some sensors may be analog while others aredigital sensors. In another example, different sensors may relate todifferent physical phenomena.

The sensor 51 provides an electrical output signal in response to aphysical, chemical, biological or any other phenomenon, serving as astimulus to the sensor. The sensor may serve as, or be, a detector, fordetecting the presence of the phenomenon. Alternatively or in addition,a sensor may measure (or respond to) a parameter of a phenomenon or amagnitude of the physical quantity thereof. For example, the sensor 51may be a thermistor or a platinum resistance temperature detector, alight sensor, a pH probe, a microphone for audio receiving, or apiezoelectric bridge. Similarly, the sensor 51 may be used to measurepressure, flow, force or other mechanical quantities. The sensor outputmay be amplified by an amplifier connected to the sensor output. Othersignal conditioning may also be applied in order to improve the handlingof the sensor output or adapting it to the next stage or manipulating,such as attenuation, delay, current or voltage limiting, leveltranslation, galvanic isolation, impedance transformation,linearization, calibration, filtering, amplifying, digitizing,integration, derivation, and any other signal manipulation. Some sensorsconditioning involves connecting them in a bridge circuit. In the caseof conditioning, the conditioning circuit may added to manipulate thesensor output, such as filter or equalizer for frequency relatedmanipulation such as filtering, spectrum analysis or noise removal,smoothing or de-blurring in case of image enhancement, a compressor (orde-compressor) or coder (or decoder) in the case of a compression or acoding/decoding schemes, modulator or demodulator in case of modulation,and extractor for extracting or detecting a feature or parameter such aspattern recognition or correlation analysis. In case of filtering,passive, active or adaptive (such as Wiener or Kalman) filters may beused. The conditioning circuits may apply linear or non-linearmanipulations. Further, the manipulation may be time-related such asanalog or digital delay-lines, integrators, or rate-based manipulation.A sensor 51 may have analog output, requiring an A/D 52 to be connectedthereto, or may have digital output. Further, the conditioning may bebased on the book entitled: “Practical Design Techniques for SensorSignal Conditioning”, by Analog Devices, Inc., 1999(ISBN-0-916550-20-6), which is incorporated in its entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

The sensor may directly or indirectly measure the rate of change of thephysical quantity (gradient) versus the direction around a particularlocation, or between different locations. For example, a temperaturegradient may describe the differences in the temperature betweendifferent locations. Further, a sensor may measure time-dependent ortime-manipulated values of the phenomenon, such as time-integrated,average or Root Mean Square (RMS or rms), relating to the square root ofthe mean of the squares of a series of discrete values (or theequivalent square root of the integral in a continuously varying value).Further, a parameter relating to the time dependency of a repeatingphenomenon may be measured, such as the duty-cycle, the frequency(commonly measured in Hertz—Hz) or the period. A sensor may be based onthe Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems—MEMS (a.k.a. Micro-mechanicalelectrical systems) technology. A sensor may respond to environmentalconditions such as temperature, humidity, noise, vibration, fumes,odors, toxic conditions, dust, and ventilation.

A sensor may be an active sensor, requiring an external source ofexcitation. For example, resistor-based sensors such as thermistors andstrain gages are active sensors, requiring a current to pass throughthem in order to determine the resistance value, corresponding to themeasured phenomenon. Similarly, a bridge circuit based sensors areactive sensors depending or external electrical circuit for theiroperation. A sensor may be a passive sensor, generating an electricaloutput without requiring any external circuit or any external voltage orcurrent. Thermocouples and photodiodes are examples or passive sensors.

A sensor may measure the amount of a property or of a physical quantityor the magnitude relating to a physical phenomenon, body or substance.Alternatively or in addition, a sensor may be used to measure the timederivative thereof, such as the rate of change of the amount, thequantity or the magnitude. In the case of space related quantity ormagnitude, a sensor may measure the linear density, relating to theamount of property per length, a sensor may measure the surface density,relating to the amount of property per area, or a sensor may measure thevolume density, relating to the amount of property per volume.Alternatively or in addition, a sensor may measure the amount ofproperty per unit mass or per mole of substance. In the case of a scalarfield, a sensor may further measure the quantity gradient, relating tothe rate of change of property with respect to position. Alternativelyor in addition, a sensor may measure the flux (or flow) of a propertythrough a cross-section or surface boundary. Alternatively or inaddition, a sensor may measure the flux density, relating to the flow ofproperty through a cross-section per unit of the cross-section, orthrough a surface boundary per unit of the surface area. Alternativelyor in addition, a sensor may measure the current, relating to the rateof flow of property through a cross-section or a surface boundary, orthe current density, relating to the rate of flow of property per unitthrough a cross-section or a surface boundary. A sensor may include orconsists of a transducer, defined herein as a device for convertingenergy from one form to another for the purpose of measurement of aphysical quantity or for information transfer. Further, a single sensormay be used to measure two or more phenomena. For example, twocharacteristics of the same element may be measured, each characteristiccorresponding to a different phenomenon.

A sensor output may have multiple states, where the sensor state isdepending upon the measured parameter of the sensed phenomenon. A sensormay be based on a two state output (such as ‘0’ or ‘1’, or ‘true’ and‘false’), such as an electric switch having two contacts, where thecontacts can be in one of two states: either “closed” meaning thecontacts are touching and electricity can flow between them, or “open”,meaning the contacts are separated and the switch is non-conducting. Thesensor may be a threshold switch, where the switch changes its stateupon sensing that the magnitude of the measured parameter of aphenomenon exceeds a certain threshold. For example, a sensor may be athermostat is a temperature-operated switch used to control a heatingprocess. Another example is a voice operated switch (a.k.a. VOX), whichis a switch that operates when sound over a certain threshold isdetected. It is usually used to turn on a transmitter or recorder whensomeone speaks and turn it off when they stop speaking. Another exampleis a mercury switch (also known as a mercury tilt switch), which is aswitch whose purpose is to allow or interrupt the flow of electriccurrent in an electrical circuit in a manner that is dependent on theswitch's physical position or alignment relative to the direction of the“pull” of earth's gravity, or other inertia. The threshold of athreshold based switch may be fixed or settable. Further, an actuatormay be used in order to locally or remotely set the threshold level.

In some cases, a sensor operation is based on generating a stimulus oran excitation to generate influence or create a phenomenon. The entireor part of the generating or stimulating mechanism may be in this casean integral part of the sensor, or may be regarded as independentactuators, and thus may be controlled by the controller. Further, asensor and an actuator, independent or integrated, may be cooperativelyoperating as a set, for improving the sensing or the actuatingfunctionality. For example, a light source, treated as an independentactuator, may be used to illuminate a location, in order to allow animage sensor to faithfully and properly capture an image of thatlocation. In another example, where a bridge is used to measureimpedance, the excitation voltage of the bridge may be supplied from apower supply treated and acting as an actuator.

A sensor may respond to chemical process or may be involved in fluidhandling, such as measuring flow or velocity. A sensor may be responsiveto the location or motion such as navigational instrument, or be used todetect or measure position, angle, displacement, distance, speed oracceleration. A sensor may be responsive to mechanical phenomenon suchas pressure, force, density or level. The environmental related sensormay respond to humidity, air pressure, and air temperature. Similarly,any sensor used to detect or measure a measurable attribute and convertsit into an electrical signal may be used. Further, a sensor may be ametal detector, which detects metallic objects by detecting theirconductivity.

In one example, the sensor is used to measure, sense or detect thetemperature of an object, that may be solid, liquid or gas (such as theair temperature), in a location. Such sensor may be based on athermistor, which is a type of resistor whose resistance variessignificantly with temperature, and is commonly made of ceramic orpolymer material. A thermistor may be a PTC (Positive TemperatureCoefficient) type, where the resistance increases with increasingtemperatures, or may be an NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) type,where the resistance decreases with increasing temperatures.Alternatively (or in addition), a thermoelectric sensor may be based ona thermocouple, consisting of two different conductors (usually metalalloys), that produce a voltage proportional to a temperaturedifference. For higher accuracy and stability, an RTD (ResistanceTemperature Detector) may be used, typically consisting of a length offine wire-wound or coiled wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass core.The RTD is made of a pure material whose resistance at varioustemperatures is known (R vs. T). A common material used may be platinum,copper, or nickel. A quartz thermometer may be used as well forhigh-precision and high-accuracy temperature measurement, based on thefrequency of a quartz crystal oscillator. The temperature may bemeasured using conduction, convection, thermal radiation, or by thetransfer of energy by phase changes. The temperature may be measured indegrees Celsius (° C.) (a.k.a. Centigrade), Fahrenheit (° F.), or Kelvin(° K). In one example, the temperature sensor (or its output) is used tomeasure a temperature gradient, providing in which direction and at whatrate the temperature changes the most rapidly around a particularlocation. The temperature gradient is a dimensional quantity expressedin units of degrees (on a particular temperature scale) per unit length,such as the SI (International System of Units) unit Kelvin per meter(K/m).

A radioactivity may be measured using a sensor based on a Geigercounter, measuring ionizing radiation. The emission of alpha particles,beta particles or gamma rays are detected and counted by the ionizationproduced in a low-pressure gas ion a Geiger-Muller tube. The SI unit ofradioactive activity is the Becquerel (Bq).

In one example, a photoelectric sensor is used to measure, sense ordetect light or the luminous intensity, such as a photosensor or aphotodetector. The light sensed may be a visible light, or invisiblelight such as infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray or gamma rays. Such sensorsmay be based on the quantum mechanical effects of light on electronicmaterials, typically semiconductors such as silicon, germanium, andIndium gallium arsenide. A photoelectric sensor may be based on thephotoelectric or photovoltaic effect, such as a photodiode,phototransistor and a photomultiplier tube. The photodiode typicallyuses a reverse biased p-n junction or PIN structure diode, and aphototransistor is in essence a bipolar transistor enclosed in atransparent case so that light can reach the base-collector junction,and the electrons that are generated by photons in the base-collectorjunction are injected into the base, and this photodiode current isamplified by the transistor's current gain β (or hfe). A reverse-biasedLED (Light Emitting Diode) may also act as a photodiode. Alternativelyor in addition, a photosensor may be based on photoconductivity, wherethe radiation or light absorption changes the conductivity of aphotoconductive material, such as selenium, lead sulfide, cadmiumsulfide, or polyvinylcarbazole. In such a case, the sensor may be basedon photoresistor or LDR (Light Dependent Resistor), which is a resistorwhose resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity. Inone example, Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) and CMOS (ComplementaryMetal-Oxide-Semiconductor) may be used as the light-sensitive elements,where incoming photons are converted into electron charges at thesemiconductor-oxide interface. The sensor may be based an Active PixelSensor (APS), for example as an element in an image sensor, and may beaccording to, or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No.6,549,234 to Lee, entitled: “Pixel Structure of Active Pixel Sensor(APS) with Electronic Shutter Function”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,897 toAndersson, entitled: “Active Pixel Sensor (APS) Readout Structure withAmplification”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,342,212 to Mentzer et al., entitled:“Analog Vertical Sub-Sampling in an Active Pixel Sensor (APS) ImageSensor”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 6,476,372 to Merrill et al., entitled:“CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Using Native Transistors”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

In one example, an electrochemical sensor is used to measure, sense ordetect a matter structure, properties, composition, and reactions. Inone example, the sensor is a pH meter for measuring the pH (acidity oralkalinity) of a liquid. Commonly such pH meter comprises a pH probewhich measures pH as the activity of the hydrogen cations at the tip ofa thin-walled glass bulb. In one example, the electrochemical sensor isa gas detector, which detects the presence or various gases within anarea, usually as part of a safety system, such as for detecting gasleak. Commonly gas detectors are used to detect combustible, flammable,or toxic gases, as well as oxygen depletion, using semiconductors,oxidation, catalytic, infrared or other detection mechanisms, andcapable to detect a single gas or several gases. Further, anelectrochemical sensor may be an electrochemical gas sensor, used tomeasure the concentration of a target gas, typically by oxidation orreducing the target gas at an electrode, and measuring the resultingcurrent. The gas sensor may be a hydrogen sensor for measuring ordetecting the presence of hydrogen, commonly based on palladium basedelectrodes, or a Carbon-Monoxide detector (CO Detector) used to detectthe presence of carbon-monoxide, commonly in order to prevent carbonmonoxide poisoning. A Carbon-Monoxide detector may be according to, orbased on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,016,205 to Drew,entitled: “Thermostat with Replaceable Carbon Monoxide Sensor Module”,in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0201531 to Pakravan etal., entitled: “Carbon Monoxide Detector”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,138 toChang et al., entitled: “Adsorption Based Carbon Monoxide sensor andMethod”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,965 to Upchurch, entitled: “SolidState Carbon Monoxide Sensor”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The gas sensormay be an oxygen sensor (a.k.a. lambda sensor) for measuring theproportion of oxygen (O₂) in a gas or liquid.

In one example, one or more of the sensors is a smoke detector, fordetecting smoke which is typically an indication of fire. The smokedetectors work either by optical detection (photoelectric) or byphysical process (ionization), while some use both detection methods toincrease sensitivity to smoke. An optical based smoke detector is basedon a light sensor, and includes a light source (incandescent bulb orinfrared LED), a lens to collimate the light into a beam, and aphotodiode or other photoelectric sensor at an angle to the beam as alight detector. In the absence of smoke, the light passes in front ofthe detector in a straight line. When smoke enters the optical chamberacross the path of the light beam, some light is scattered by the smokeparticles, directing it at the sensor and thus triggering the alarm. Anionization type smoke detector can detect particles of smoke that aretoo small to be visible, and use a radioactive element such asamericium-241 (241Am). The radiation passes through an ionizationchamber, an air-filled space between two electrodes, and permits asmall, constant current between the electrodes. Any smoke that entersthe chamber absorbs the alpha particles, which reduces the ionizationand interrupts this current, setting off the alarm. Some smoke alarmsuse a carbon-dioxide sensor or carbon-monoxide sensor to detectextremely dangerous products of combustion.

A sensor may include a physiological sensor, for monitoring a live bodysuch as a human body, for example as part of the telemedicine concept.The sensors may be used to sense, log and monitor vital signs, such asof patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma,and heart attack. The sensor may be ECG (Electrocardiography), involvinginterpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period oftime, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of theskin. The sensor may be used to measure oxygen saturation (SO2),involving the measuring the percentage of hemoglobin binding sites inthe bloodstream occupied by oxygen. A pulse oximeter relies on the lightabsorption characteristics of saturated hemoglobin to give an indicationof oxygen saturation. Venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) is measured to seehow much oxygen the body consumes, tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) canbe measured by near infrared spectroscopy, and Saturation of peripheraloxygen (SpO2) is an estimation of the oxygen saturation level usuallymeasured with a pulse oximeter device. Other sensors may be a bloodpressure sensor, for measuring is the pressure exerted by circulatingblood upon the walls of blood vessels, which is one of the principalvital signs, and may be based on a sphygmomanometer measuring thearterial pressure. An EEG (Electroencephalography) sensor may be usedfor the monitoring of electrical activity along the scalp. EEG measuresvoltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within theneurons of the brain. The sensors (or the sensor units) may be a smallbio-sensor implanted inside the human body, or may be worn at the humanbody, or as wearable, near, on or around a live body. Non-humanapplications may involve the monitoring of crops and animals. Suchnetworks involving biological sensors may be part of a Body Area Network(BAN) or Body Sensor Network (BSN), and may be in accordance to, orbased on, IEEE 802.15.6. The sensor may be a biosensor, and may beaccording to, or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No.6,329,160 to Schneider et al., entitled: “Biosensors”, in U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2005/0247573 to Nakamura et al., entitled:“Biosensors”, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0249063 toDeshong et al., entitled: “Biosensors”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,273 toStewart, entitled: “Biosensors”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The sensor may be an electroacoustic sensor that responds to sound waves(which are essentially vibrations transmitted through an elastic solidor a liquid or gas), such as a microphone, which converts sound intoelectrical energy, usually by means of a ribbon or diaphragm set intomotion by the sound waves. The sound may be audio or audible, havingfrequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable ofbeing detected by human organs of hearing. Alternatively or in addition,the microphone may be used to sense inaudible frequencies, such asultrasonic (a.k.a. ultrasound) acoustic frequencies that are above therange audible to the human ear, or above approximately 20,000 Hz. Amicrophone may be a condenser microphone (a.k.a. capacitor orelectrostatic microphone) where the diaphragm acts as one plate of a twoplates capacitor, and the vibrations changes the distance betweenplates, hence changing the capacitance. An electret microphone is acapacitor microphone based on a permanent charge of an electret or apolarized ferroelectric material. A dynamic microphone is based onelectromagnetic induction, using a diaphragm attached to a small movableinduction coil that is positioned in a magnetic field of a permanentmagnet. The incident sound waves cause the diaphragm to vibrate, and thecoil to move in the magnetic field, producing a current. Similarly, aribbon microphone uses a thin, usually corrugated metal ribbon suspendedin a magnetic field, and its vibration within the magnetic fieldgenerates the electrical signal. A loudspeaker is commonly constructedsimilar to a dynamic microphone, and thus may be used as a microphone aswell. In a carbon microphone, the diaphragm vibrations apply varyingpressure to a carbon, thus changing its electrical resistance. Apiezoelectric microphone (a.k.a. crystal or piezo microphone) is basedon the phenomenon of piezoelectricity in piezoelectric crystals such aspotassium sodium tartrate. A microphone may be omnidirectional,unidirectional, bidirectional, or provide other directionality or polarpatterns.

A sensor may be used to measure electrical quantities. An electricalsensor may be conductively connected to measure the electricalparameter, or may be non-conductively coupled to measure anelectric-related phenomenon, such as magnetic field or heat. Further,the average or RMS value may be measured. An ampermeter (a.k.a. ammeter)is a current sensor that measures the magnitude of the electric currentin a circuit or in a conductor such as a wire. Electric current iscommonly measured in Amperes, milliampers, microamperes, or kiloampers.The sensor may be an integrating ammeter (a.k.a. watt-hour meter) wherethe current is summed over time, providing a current/time product, whichis proportional to the energy transferred. The measured electric currentmay be an Alternating Current (AC) such as a sinewave, a Direct Current(DC), or an arbitrary waveform. A galvanometer is a type of ampermeterfor detecting or measuring low current, typically by producing a rotarydeflection of a coil in a magnetic field. Some ampermeters use aresistor (shunt), whose voltage is directly proportional to the currentflowing through, requiring the current to pass through the meter. Ahot-wire ampermeter involves passing the current through a wire whichexpands as it heats, and the expansion is measured. A non-conductive ornon-contact current sensor may be based on ‘Hall effect’ magnetic fieldsensor, measuring the magnetic field generated by the current to bemeasured. Other non-conductive current sensors involve a current clampor current probe, which has two jaws which open to allow clamping aroundan electrical conductor, allowing for measuring of the electric currentproperties (commonly AC), without making a physical contact ordisconnecting the circuit. Such current clamp commonly comprises a wirecoil wounded around a split ferrite ring, acting as the secondarywinding of a current transformer, with the current-carrying conductoracting as the primary winding. Other current sensors and relatedcircuits are described in Zetex Semiconductors PLC application note“AN39—Current measurement application handbook” Issue 5, January 2008,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

A sensor may be a voltmeter, commonly used for measuring the magnitudeof the electric potential difference between two points. Electricvoltage is commonly measured in volts, millivolts, microvolts, orkilovolts. The measured electric voltage may be an Alternating Current(AC) such as a sinewave, a Direct Current (DC), or an arbitrarywaveform. Similarly, an electrometer may be used for measuring electriccharge (commonly in Coulomb units—C) or electrical potential difference,with very low leakage current. The voltmeter commonly works by measuringthe current through a fixed resistor, which, according to Ohm's Law, isproportional to the voltage across the resistor. A potentiometer-basedvoltmeter works by balancing the unknown voltage against a known voltagein a bridge circuit. A multimeter (a.k.a. VOM—Volt-Ohm-Milliameter) aswell as Digital MultiMeter (DMM), typically includes a voltmeter, anampermeter and an ohmmeter.

A sensor may be a wattmeter measuring the magnitude of the active power(or the supply rate of electrical energy), commonly using watts (W),milliwatts, kilowatts, or megawatts units. A wattmeter may be based onmeasuring the voltage and the current, and multiplying to calculate thepower P=VI. In AC measurement, the true power is P=VIcos(φ). Thewattmeter may be a bolometer, used for measuring the power of incidentelectromagnetic radiation via the heating of a material with atemperature-dependent electrical resistance. A sensor may be anelectricity meter (or electrical energy meter) that measures the amountof electrical energy consumed by a load. Commonly, an electricity meteris used to measure the energy consumed by a single load, an appliance, aresidence, a business, or any electrically powered device, and mayprovide or be the basis for the electricity cost or billing. Theelectricity meter may be an AC (single or multi-phase) or DC type, andthe common unit of measurement is kilowatt-hour, however any energyrelated unit may be used such as Joules. Some electricity meters arebased on wattmeters which accumulate or average the readings, or may bebased on induction.

A sensor may be an ohmmeter measuring the electrical resistance,commonly measured in ohms (Ω), milliohms, kiloohms or megohms, orconductance measured in Siemens (S) units. Low-resistance measurementscommonly use micro-ohmmeter, while megohmmeter (a.k.a. Megger) measureslarge value of resistance. Common ohmmeter passes a constant knowncurrent through the measured unknown resistance (or conductance), whilemeasuring the voltage across the resistance, and deriving the resistance(or conductance) value from Ohm's law (R=V/I). A Wheatstone bridge mayalso be used as a resistance sensor, by balancing two legs of a bridgecircuit, where one leg includes the unknown resistance (or conductance)component. Variations of Wheatstone bridge may be used to measurecapacitance, inductance, impedance and other electrical ornon-electrical quantities.

A sensor may be a capacitance meter for measuring capacitance, commonlyusing units of picofarads, nanofarads, microfarads, and Farads (F). Asensor may be an inductance meter for measuring inductance, commonlyusing SI units of Henry (H), such as microHenry, milliHenry, and Henry.Further, a sensor may be an impedance meter for measuring an impedanceof a device or a circuit. A sensor may be an LCR meter, used to measureinductance (L), capacitance (C), and resistance (R). A meter may usesourcing an AC voltage, and use the ratio of the measured voltage andcurrent (and their phase difference) through the tested device accordingto Ohm's law to calculate the impedance. Alternatively or in addition, ameter may use a bridge circuit (Similar to Wheatstone bridge concept),where variable calibrated elements are adjusted to detect a null. Themeasurement may be in a single frequency or over a range of frequencies.

The sensor may be a Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR) used to characterizeand locate faults in transmission-lines, typically conductive ormetallic lines, such as twisted wire pairs and coaxial cables. OpticalTDR is used to test optical fiber cables. Typically, a TDR transmits ashort rise time pulse along the checked medium. If the medium is auniformly impedance medium and properly terminated, the entiretransmitted pulse will be absorbed in the far-end terminal and no signalwill be reflected toward the TDR. Any impedance discontinuities willcause some of the incident signal to be sent back towards the source.Increases in the impedance create a reflection that reinforces theoriginal pulse whilst decreases in the impedance create a reflectionthat opposes the original pulse. The resulting reflected pulse that ismeasured at the output/input to the TDR is measured as a function oftime and, because the speed of signal propagation is almost constant fora given transmission medium, can be read as a function of cable length.A TDR may be used to verify cable impedance characteristics, splice andconnector locations and associated losses, and estimate cable lengths.The TDR may be according to, or based on, the TDR described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,437,578 to Gumm, entitled: “Cable Loss Correction of Distance toFault and Time Domain Reflectometer Measurements”, in U.S. Pat. No.6,714,021 to Williams, entitled: “Integrated Time Domain Reflectometry(TDR) Tester”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,225 to Johnson et al.,entitled: “Network Test Instrument”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be a magnetometer for measuring a local H or B magneticfields. The B-field (a.k.a. magnetic flux density or magnetic induction)is measured in Tesla (T) in SI units and Gauss in cgs units, andmagnetic flux is measured in Weber (Wb) units. The H-field (a.k.a.magnetic field intensity or magnetic field strength) is measured inampere-turn per meter (A/m) in SI units, and in Oersteds (Oe) in cgsunits. Many Smartphones contain magnetometers serving as compasses. Amagnetometer may be a scalar magnetometer, measuring the total strength,or may be a vector magnetometer, providing both magnitude and direction(relative to the spatial orientation) of the magnetic field. Commonmagnetometers include Hall effect sensor, magneto-diode,magneto-transistor, AMR magnetometer, GMR magnetometer, magnetic tunneljunction magnetometer, magneto-optical sensor, Lorentz force based MEMSsensor (a.k.a. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance—NMR), Electron Tunneling basedMEMS sensor, MEMS compasses, Nuclear precession magnetic field sensor,optically pumped magnetic field sensor, fluxgate magnetometer, searchcoil magnetic field sensor, and Superconducting Quantum InterferenceDevice (SQUID) magnetometer. ‘Hall effect’ magnetometers are based onHall probe, which contains an indium compound semiconductor crystal suchas indium antimonide, mounted on an aluminum backing plate, and providesa voltage a voltage in response to the measured B-field. A fluxgatemagnetometer makes use of the non-linear magnetic characteristics of aprobe or sensing element that has a ferromagnetic core. NMR and ProtonPrecession Magnetometers (PPM) measure the resonance frequency ofprotons in the magnetic field to be measured. SQUID meters are verysensitive vector magnetometers, based on superconducting loopscontaining Josephson junctions. The magnetometer may beLorentz-force-based MEMS sensor, relying on the mechanical motion of theMEMS structure due to the Lorentz force acting on the current-carryingconductor in the magnetic field.

A sensor may be a strain gauge, used to measure the strain, or any otherdeformation, of an object. A strain gauge commonly comprises a metallicfoil pattern supported by an insulating flexible backing. As the objectis deformed, the foil is deformed (due to the object tension or thecompression), causing its electrical resistance to change. Some straingauges are based on semiconductor strain gauge (such as piezoresistors),while others are using fiber optic sensors measuring the strain along anoptical fiber. Capacitive strain gauges use a variable capacitor toindicate the level of mechanical deformation. Vibrating wire strains arebased on vibrating tensioned wire, where the strain is calculated bymeasuring the resonant frequency of the wire. A sensor may be a straingauge rosette, comprising multiple strain gauges, and can detect orsense force or torque in a particular direction, or to determine thepattern of forces or torques.

A sensor may be a tactile sensor, being sensitive to force or pressure,or being sensitive to a touch by an object, typically a human touch. Atactile sensor is commonly based on piezoresistive, piezoelectric,capacitive, or elastoresistive sensor. Further, a tactile sensor may bebased on a conductive rubber, a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) material,a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) material, or a metallic capacitiveelement. A sensor may include an array of tactile sensor elements, andmay provide an ‘image’ of a contact surface, distribution of pressures,or pattern of forces. A tactile sensor may be a tactile switch where thetouch sensing is used to trigger a switch, which may be a capacitancetouch switch, where the human body capacitance increases a sensedcapacitance, or may be a resistance touch switch, where the human bodypart such as a finger (or any other conductive object) conductivity issensed between two conductors (e.g., two pieces of metal).

A sensor may be a piezoelectric sensor, where the piezoelectric effectis used to measure pressure, acceleration, strain or force. Depending onhow the piezoelectric material is cut, there are three main modes ofoperation: transverse longitudinal and shear. In the transverse effectmode, a force applied along an axis generates charges in a directionperpendicular to the line of force, and in the longitudinal effect mode,the amount of charge produced is proportional to the applied force andis independent of size and shape of the piezoelectric element. Whenusing as a pressure sensor, commonly a thin membrane is used to transferthe force to the piezoelectric element, while in accelerometer use, amass is attached to the element, and the load of the mass is measured. Apiezoelectric sensor element material may be a piezoelectric ceramics(such as PZT ceramic) or a single crystal material. A single crystalmaterial may be gallium phosphate, quartz, tourmaline, or Lead MagnesiumNiobate-Lead Titanate (PMN-PT).

In one example, the sensor is a motion sensor, and may include one ormore accelerometers, which measures the absolute acceleration or theacceleration relative to freefall. For example, one single-axisaccelerometer per axis may be used, requiring three such accelerometersfor three-axis sensing. The motion sensor may be a single or multi-axissensor, detecting the magnitude and direction of the acceleration as avector quantity, and thus can be used to sense orientation,acceleration, vibration, shock and falling. The motion sensor output maybe analog or digital signals, representing the measured values. Themotion sensor may be based on a piezoelectric accelerometer thatutilizes the piezoelectric effect of certain materials to measuredynamic changes in mechanical variables (e.g., acceleration, vibration,and mechanical shock). Piezoelectric accelerometers commonly rely onpiezoceramics (e.g., lead zirconate titanate) or single crystals (e.g.,Quartz, tourmaline). A piezoelectric quartz accelerometer is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 7,716,985 to Zhang et al. entitled: “PiezoelectricQuartz Accelerometer”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,755 to Offenberg entitled:“Accelerometer Sensor of Crystalline Material and Method forManufacturing the Same” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,786 to Le Traon et al.entitled: “Monolithic Accelerometric Transducer”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor may be based onthe Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS, a.k.a. Micro-mechanicalelectrical system) technology. A MEMS based motion sensor is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,729 to Axelrod et al. entitled: “Accelerometer”,U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,212 to McNie et al. entitled: “Micro-Machining” andin U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,876 to Mehregany entitled: “Three-axisAccelerometers and Fabrication Methods”, which are all incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. An exampleof MEMS motion sensor is LIS302DL manufactured by STMicroelectronics NVand described in Data-sheet LIS302DL STMicroelectronics NV, ‘MEMS motionsensor 3-axis-±2 g/±8 g smart digital output “piccolo” accelerometer’,Rev. 4, October 2008, which is incorporated in its entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor may be based onelectrical tilt and vibration switch or any other electromechanicalswitch, such as the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,326,866 toWhitmore et al. entitled: “Omnidirectional Tilt and vibration sensor”,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein. An example of an electromechanical switch is SQ-SEN-200available from SignalQuest, Inc. of Lebanon, N.H., USA, described in thedata-sheet ‘DATASHEET SQ-SEN-200 Omnidirectional Tilt and VibrationSensor’ Updated 2009 Aug. 3, which is incorporated in its entirety forall purposes as if fully set forth herein. Other types of motion sensorsmay be equally used, such as devices based on piezoelectric,piezoresistive and capacitive components to convert the mechanicalmotion into an electrical signal. Using an accelerometer to control isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,774,155 to Sato et al. entitled:“Accelerometer-Based Controller”, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be a force sensor, a load cell, or a force gauge (a.k.a.force gage), used to measure a force magnitude commonly using Newton (N)units, and typically during a push or pull action. A force sensor may bebased on measured spring displacement or extension according to Hooke'slaw. A load cell may be based on the deformation of a strain gauge, ormay be a hydraulic or hydrostatic, a piezoelectric, or a vibrating wireload cell. A sensor may be a dynamometer for measuring torque or momentor force. A dynamometer may be a motoring type or a driving type,measuring the torque or power required to operate a device, or may be anabsorption or passive dynamometer, designed to be driven. The SI unitfor torque is the Newton-meter (N·m). The force sensor may be accordingto, or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,898 toKirman et al., entitled: “Force Sensors”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,826 toPeshkin, entitled: “Force Sensors”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,953 toTsukada et al., entitled: “Force Sensors”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,146to Murray et al., entitled: “Fingerpad Force Sensing System”, which areall incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

A sensor may be a pressure sensor (a.k.a. pressure transducer orpressure transmitter/sender) for measuring a pressure of gases orliquids, commonly using units of Pascal (Pa), Bar (b) (such asmillibar), Atmosphere (atm), Millimeter of Mercury (mmHg), or Torr, orin terms of force per unit area such as Barye—dyne per square centimeter(Ba). Pressure sensor may indirectly measure other variable such asfluid/gas flow, speed, water-level, and altitude. A pressure sensor maybe a pressure switch, acting to complete or break an electric circuit inresponse to measured pressure magnitude. A pressure sensor may be anabsolute pressure sensor, where the pressure is measured relative to aperfect vacuum, may be a gauge pressure sensor where the pressure ismeasured relative to an atmospheric pressure, may be a vacuum pressuresensor where a pressure below atmospheric pressure is measured, may be adifferential pressure sensor where the difference between two pressuresis measured, or may be a sealed pressure sensor where the pressure ismeasured relative to some fixed pressure. The changes in pressurerelative to altitude may serve to use a pressure sensor for altitudesensing, and the Venturi effect may be used to measure flow by apressure sensor. Similarly, the depth of a submerged body or the fluidlevel on contents in a tank may be measured by a pressure sensor.

A pressure sensor may be of a force collector type, where a forcecollector (such a diaphragm, piston, bourdon tube, or bellows) is usedto measure strain (or deflection) due to applied force (pressure) overan area. Such sensor may be a based on the piezoelectric effect (apiezoresistive strain gauge), and may use Silicon (Monocrystalline),Polysilicon Thin Film, Bonded Metal Foil, Thick Film, or Sputtered ThinFilm. Alternatively or in addition, such force collector type sensor maybe of a capacitive type, which uses a metal, a ceramic, or a silicondiaphragm in a pressure cavity to create a variable capacitor to detectstrain due to applied pressure. Alternatively or in addition, such forcecollector type sensor may be of an electromagnetic type, where thedisplacement of a diaphragm by means of changes in inductance ismeasured. Further, in optical type the physical change of an opticalfiber, such as strain, due to applied pressure is sensed. Further, apotentiometric type may be used, where the motion of a wiper along aresistive mechanism is used to measure the strain caused by the appliedpressure. A pressure sensor may measure the stress or the changes in gasdensity, caused by the applied pressure, by using the changes inresonant frequency in a sensing mechanism, by using the changes inthermal conductivity of a gas, or by using the changes in the flow ofcharged gas particles (ions). An air pressure sensor may be a barometer,typically used to measure the atmospheric pressure, commonly used forweather forecast applications.

A pressure sensor may be according to, or based on, the sensor describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,943 to Welles, II et al., entitled: “PressureSensors”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,911 to Akiyama et al., entitled:“Pressure Sensors”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,451 to Delatorre, entitled:“Pressure Sensors”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,887 to Bell, entitled:“Pressure Sensors”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be a position sensor for measuring linear or angularposition (or motion). A position sensor may be an absolute positionsensor, or may be a displacement (relative or incremental) sensor,measuring a relative position, and may further be an electromechanicalsensor. A position sensor may be mechanically attached to the measuredobject, or alternatively may use a non-contact measurement.

A position sensor may be an angular position sensor, for measuringinvolving an angular position (or the rotation or motion) of a shaft, anaxle, or a disk. Angles are commonly expressed in radians (rad), or indegrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″), and angular velocity commonlyuses units of radian per second (rad/s). Absolute angular positionsensor output indicates the current position (angle) of the shaft, whileincremental or displacement sensor provides information about thechange, the angular speed or the motion of the shaft. An angularposition sensor may be of optical type, using reflective or interruptionschemes. A reflective sensor is based on a light-detector that senses areflected beam from a light emitter, while an interruptive sensor isbased on interrupting the light path between the emitter and thedetector. An angular position sensor may be of magnetic type, relying ondetection based on the changes in the magnetic field. A magnetic-basedangular position sensor may be based on a variable-reluctance (VR),Eddy-Current Killed Oscillator (ECKO), Wiegand sensing, or Hall-effectsensing, used to detect a pattern in the rotating disc. A rotarypotentiometer may serve as an angular position sensor.

An angular position sensor may be based on a Rotary VariableDifferential Transformer (RVDT), used for measuring the angulardisplacement by using a type of an electrical transformer. An RVDT iscommonly composed of a salient two-pole rotor and a stator consisting ofa primary excitation coil and a pair of secondary output coils,electromagnetically coupled to the excitation coil. The coupling isproportional to the angle of the measured shaft; hence the AC outputvoltage is proportional to the angular shaft displacement. A resolverand a synchro are similar transformer based angular position sensors.

An angular position sensor may be based on a rotary encoder (a.k.a.shaft encoder), used for measuring angular position commonly by using adisc, which is rigidly fixed to the measured shaft, and containconductive, optical, or magnetic tracks. A rotary encoder may be anabsolute encoder, or may be an incremental rotary encoder, where outputis provided only when the encoder is rotating. A mechanical rotaryencoder use an insulating disc and sliding contacts, which closeelectrical circuits upon rotation of the disc. An optical rotary encoderuses a disc having transparent and opaque areas, and a light source anda photo detector to sense the optical pattern on the disc. Bothmechanical and optical rotary encoders, and may use binary or grayencoding schemes.

A sensor may be an angular rate sensor, used to measure the angularrate, or the rotation speed, of a shaft, an axle or a disk. An angularrate sensor may be electromechanical, MEMS based, Laser based (such asRing Laser Gyroscope—RLG), or a gyroscope (such as fiber-optic gyro)based. Some gyroscopes use the measurement of the Coriolis accelerationto determine the angular rate.

An angular rate sensor may be a tachometer (a.k.a. RPM gauge andrevolution-counter), used to measure the rotation speed of a shaft, anaxle or a disk, commonly by units of RPM (Revolutions per Minute)annotating the number of full rotations completed in one minute aroundthe axis. A tachometer may be based on any angular position sensor, forexample sensors that are described herein, using further conditioning orprocessing to obtain the rotation speed. A tachometer may be based onmeasuring the centrifugal force, or based on sensing a slotted disk,using optical means where an optical beam is interrupted, electricalmeans where electrical contacts sense the disk, or by using magneticsensors, such as based on Hall-effect. Further, an angular rate sensormay be a centrifugal switch, which is an electric switch that operatesusing the centrifugal force created from a rotating shaft, most commonlythat of an electric motor or a gasoline engine. The switch is designedto activate or de-activate as a function of the rotational speed of theshaft.

A position sensor may be a linear position sensor, for measuring alinear displacement or position typically in a straight line. The SIunit for length is meter (m), and prefixes may be used such as nanometer(nm), micrometer, centimeter (cm), millimeter (mm), and kilometer (Km).A linear position sensor may be based on a resistance changing elementsuch as linear potentiometer.

A linear position sensor may be a Linear Variable DifferentialTransformer (LVDT) used for measuring linear displacement based on thetransformer concept. An LVDT has three coils placed in a tube, where thecenter coil serves as the primary winding coil, and the two outer coilsserve as the transformer secondary windings. The position of a slidingcylindrical ferromagnetic core is measured by changing the mutualmagnetic coupling between the windings.

A linear position sensor may be a linear encoder, which may be similarto the rotary encoder counterpart, and may be based on the sameprinciples. A linear encoder may be either incremental or absolute, andmay be of optical, magnetic, capacitive, inductive, or eddy-currenttype. Optical linear encoder typically uses a light source such as anLED or laser diode, and may employ shuttering, diffraction, orholographic principles. A magnetic linear encoder may employ an active(magnetized) or passive (variable reluctance) scheme, and the positionmay be sensed using a sense coil, ‘Hall effect’ or magneto-resistiveread-head. A capacitive or inductive linear encoder respectivelymeasures the changes of capacitance or the inductance. Eddy-currentlinear encoder may be based on U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,110 to Henrich et al.entitled: “Eddy Current Type Digital Encoder and Position Reference”.

In one example, one or more of the sensor elements 51 is a motiondetector or an occupancy sensor. A motion detector is a device formotion detection, that contains a physical mechanism or electronicsensor that quantifies motion commonly in order alert the user of thepresence of a moving object within the field of view, or in generalconfirming a change in the position of an object relative to itssurroundings or the change in the surroundings relative to an object.This detection can be achieved by both mechanical and electronicmethods. In addition to discrete, on or off motion detection, it canalso consist of magnitude detection that can measure and quantify thestrength or speed of this motion or the object that created it. Motioncan be typically detected by sound (acoustic sensors), opacity (opticaland infrared sensors and video image processors), geomagnetism (magneticsensors, magnetometers), reflection of the transmitted energy (infraredlaser radar, ultrasonic sensors, and microwave radar sensors),electromagnetic induction (inductive-loop detectors), and vibration(triboelectric, seismic, and inertia-switch sensors). Acoustic sensorsare based on: Electret effect, inductive coupling, capacitive coupling,triboelectric effect, piezoelectric effect, and fiber optictransmission. Radar intrusion sensors usually have the lowest rate offalse alarms. In one example, an electronic motion detector contains amotion sensor that transforms the detection of motion into an electricalsignal. This can be achieved by measuring optical or acoustical changesin the field of view. Most motion detectors can detect up to 15-25meters (50-80 ft). An occupancy sensor is typically a motion detectorthat is integrated with hardware or software-based timing device. Forexample, it can be used for preventing illumination of unoccupiedspaces, by sensing when motion has stopped for a specified time period,in order to trigger a light extinguishing signal.

One basic form of mechanical motion detection is in the form of amechanically-actuated switch or trigger. For electronic motiondetection, passive or active sensors may be used, where four types ofsensors commonly used in motion detectors spectrum: Passive infraredsensors (passive) which looks for body heat, while no energy is emittedfrom the sensor, ultrasonic (active) sensors that send out pulses ofultrasonic waves and measures the reflection off a moving object,microwave (active) sensor that sends out microwave pulses and measuresthe reflection off a moving object, and tomographic detector (active)which senses disturbances to radio waves as they travel through an areasurrounded by mesh network nodes. Alternatively or in addition, motioncan be electronically identified using optical detection or acousticaldetection Infrared light or laser technology may be used for opticaldetection. Motion detection devices, such as PIR (Passive InfraredSensor) motion detectors, have a sensor that detects a disturbance inthe infrared spectrum, such as a person or an animal.

Many motion detectors use a combination of different technologies. Thesedual-technology detectors benefit with each type of sensor, and falsealarms are reduced. Placement of the sensors can be strategicallymounted so as to lessen the chance of pets activating alarms. Often, PIRtechnology will be paired with another model to maximize accuracy andreduce energy usage. PIR draws less energy than microwave detection, andso many sensors are calibrated so that when the PIR sensor is tripped,it activates a microwave sensor. If the latter also picks up anintruder, then the alarm is sounded. As interior motion detectors do not‘see’ through windows or walls, motion-sensitive outdoor lighting isoften recommended to enhance comprehensive efforts to protect aproperty. Some application for motion detection are (a) detection ofunauthorized entry, (b) detection of cessation of occupancy of an areato extinguish lights and (c) detection of a moving object which triggersa camera to record subsequent events.

A sensor may be a humidity sensor, such as a hygrometer, used formeasuring the humidity in the environmental air or other gas, relatingto the water vapors or the moisture content, or any water content in agas-vapor mixture. The hygrometer may be a humidistat, which is a switchthat responds to a relative humidity level, and commonly used to controlhumidifying or dehumidifying equipment. The measured humidity may be anabsolute humidity, corresponding to the amount of water vapor, commonlyexpressed in water mass per unit of volume. Alternatively or inaddition, the humidity may be relative humidity, defined as the ratio ofthe partial pressure of water vapor in an air-water mixture to thesaturated vapor pressure of water at those conditions, commonlyexpressed in percents (%), or may be specific humidity (a.k.a. humidityratio), which is the ratio of water vapor to dry air in a particularmass. The humidity may be measured with a dew-point hygrometer, wherecondensation is detected by optical means. In capacitive humiditysensors, the effect of humidity on the dielectric constant of a polymeror metal oxide material is measured. In resistive humidity sensors, theresistance of salts or conductive polymers is measured. In thermalconductivity humidity sensors, the change in thermal conductivity of airdue to the humidity is checked, providing indication of absolutehumidity. The humidity sensor may be a humidistat, which is a switchthat responds to a relative humidity level, and commonly used to controlhumidifying or dehumidifying equipment. The humidity sensor may beaccording to, or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No.5,001,453 to Ikejiri et al., entitled: “Humidity Sensor”, in U.S. Pat.No. 6,840,103 to Lee at al., entitled: “Absolute Humidity Sensor”, inU.S. Pat. No. 6,806,722 to Shon et al., entitled: “Polymer-Type HumiditySensor”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,803 to Seakins et al., entitled:“Humidity Sensor”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be an atmospheric sensor, and may be according to, or basedon, the sensor described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2004/0182167 to Orth et al., entitled: “Gage Pressure Output From anAbsolute Pressure Measurement Device”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,481 toNelson et al., entitled: “Microwave Radiometer and Methods for SensingAtmospheric Moisture and Temperature”, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,213,010 toSaunders et al., entitled: “Vertical Drop Atmospheric Sensor”, or inU.S. Pat. No. 5,604,595 to Schoen, entitled: “Long Stand-Off RangeDifferential Absorption Tomographic Atmospheric Trace Substances SensorSystems Utilizing Bistatic Configurations of Airborne and SatelliteLaser Source and Detector Reflector Platforms”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

A sensor may be a bulk or surface acoustic wave sensor, and may beaccording to, or based on, the sensor described in U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2010/0162815 to Lee, entitled:“Manufacturing Method for Acoustic Wave Sensor Realizing Dual Mode inSingle Chip and Biosensor Using the Same”, in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2009/0272193 to Okaguchi et al., entitled: “SurfaceAcoustic Wave Sensor”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,536 to Liu et al.,entitled: “System and Method to Determine Oil Quality Utilizing a SingleMulti-Function Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor”, or in U.S. Pat. No.7,482,732 to Kalantar-Zadeh, entitled: “Layered Surface Acoustic WaveSensor”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be a clinometer (a.k.a. inclinometer, tilt sensor, slopegauge, and pitch/roll indicator) for measuring angle (or slope or tilt),elevation or depression of an object, or pitch or roll (commonly withrespect to gravity), with respect to the earth ground plane, or withrespect to the horizon, commonly expressed in degrees. The clinometersmay measure inclination (positive slope), declination (negative slope),or both. A clinometer may be based on an accelerometer, a pendulum, oron a gas bubble in liquid. The inclinometer may be a tilt switch, suchas a mercury tilt switch, commonly based on a sealed glass envelopewhich contains a bead or mercury. When tilted in the appropriatedirection, the bead touches a set (or multiple sets) of contacts, thuscompleting an electrical circuit.

The sensor may be an angular rate sensor, and may be according to, orbased on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,220 to Burdess etal., entitled: “Angular Rate Sensors”, in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2011/0041604 to Kano et al., entitled: “Angular RateSensor”, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0061460 toSeeger et al., entitled: “Extension-Mode Angular Velocity Sensor”, or inU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0219873 to OHTA et al.,entitled: “Angular Rate Sensor”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be a proximity sensor for detecting the presence of nearbyobjects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor may be ofultrasonic, capacitive, inductive, magnetic, eddy-current or infrared(IR) type. A typical proximity sensor emits a field or a signal, andsenses the changes in the field due to the object. An inductive typeemits magnetic field, and may be used with a metal or conductive object.An optical type emits a beam (commonly infrared), and measures thereflected optical signal. A proximity sensor may be a capacitivedisplacement sensor, based on the capacitance change due to theproximity of conductive and non-conductive materials. A metal detectoris one type of a proximity sensor using inductive sensing, responding toconductive material such as metal. Commonly a coil produces analternating magnetic field, and measuring eddy-currents or the changesin the magnetic fields.

A sensor may be a flow sensor, for measuring the volumetric or mass flowrate (or flow velocity) of gas or liquid such as via a defined area or asurface, commonly expressed in liters per second, kilogram per second,gallons per minute, or cubic-meter per second. A liquid flow sensortypically involves measuring the flow in a pipe or in an open conduit. Aflow measurement may be based on a mechanical flow meter, where the flowaffects a motion to be sensed. Such meter may be a turbine flow meter,based on measuring the rotation of a turbine, such as axial turbine, inthe liquid (or gas) flow around an axis. A mechanical flow meter may bebased on a rotor with helical blades inserted axially in the flow(Woltmann meter), or a single jet meter based on a simple impeller withradial vanes, impinged upon by a single jet (such as a paddle wheelmeter). Pressure-based meters may be based on measuring a pressure or apressure differential, caused by the flow, commonly based on Bernoulli'sprinciple. A Venturi meter is based on constricting the flow (e.g., byan orifice), and measuring the pressure differential before and withinthe constriction. Commonly a concentric, eccentric, or segmental orificeplate may be used, including a plate with a hole. An optical flow meteruse light to determine the flow-rate, commonly by measuring the actualspeed of particles in the gas (or liquid) flow, by using a light emitter(e.g., laser) and a photo-detector. Similarly, the Doppler-effect may beused with sound, such as an ultrasonic sound, or with light, such as alaser Doppler. The sensor may be based on an acoustic velocity sensor,and may be according to, or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,930,201 to Cray, entitled: “Acoustic Vector Sensing Sonar System”,in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,192 to Toda et al., entitled: “Fluid FlowVelocity Sensor Using a Piezoelectric Element”, or in U.S. Pat. No.7,239,577 to Tenghamn et al., entitled: “Apparatus and Methods forMulticomponent Marine Geophysical Data Gathering”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

A flow sensor may be an air flow sensor, for measuring the air flow,such as through a surface (e.g., through a tube) or a volume. The sensormay actually measure the air volume passing (such as in vane/flap airflow meter), or may measure the actual speed or air flow. In some cases,a pressure, typically differential pressure, is measured as an indicatorfor the air flow measurements.

An anemometer is an air flow sensor primarily for measuring wind speed.Air or wind flow may use cup anemometer, which typically consists ofhemispherical cups mounted on the ends of horizontal arms. The air flowpast the cups in any horizontal direction turns the cups proportional tothe wind speed. A windmill anemometer combines a propeller and a tail onthe same axis, to obtain wind speed and direction measurements. Hot-wireanemometer commonly uses a fine (several micrometers) tungsten (or othermetal) wire, heated to some temperature above the ambient, and uses thecooling effect of the air flowing past the wire. Hot-wire devices can befurther classified as CCA (Constant-Current Anemometer), CVA(Constant-Voltage Anemometer) and CTA (Constant-Temperature Anemometer).The voltage output from these anemometers is thus the result of somesort of circuit within the device trying to maintain the specificvariable (current, voltage or temperature) constant. Laser Doppleranemometers use a beam of light from a laser that is divided into twobeams, with one propagated out of the anemometer. Particulates (ordeliberately introduced seed material) flowing along with air moleculesnear where the beam exits reflect, or backscatter, the light back into adetector, where it is measured relative to the original laser beam. Whenthe particles are in great motion, they produce a Doppler shift formeasuring wind speed in the laser light, which is used to calculate thespeed of the particles, and therefore the air around the anemometer.Sonic anemometers use ultrasonic sound waves to measure wind velocity.They measure wind speed based on the time of flight of sonic pulsesbetween pairs of transducers. Measurements from pairs of transducers canbe combined to yield a measurement of velocity in 1-, 2-, or3-dimensional flow. The spatial resolution is given by the path lengthbetween transducers, which is typically 10 to 20 cm. Sonic anemometerscan take measurements with very fine temporal resolution, 20 Hz orbetter, which makes them well suited for turbulence measurements. Airflow may be further measured by pressure anemometers, which may be aplate or a tube type. Plate anemometer uses a flat plate suspended fromthe top so that the wind deflects the plate, or by balancing a springcompressed by the pressure of the wind on its face. Tube anemometercomprises a glass U tube containing a liquid manometer serving as apressure gauge, with one end bent in a horizontal direction to face thewind and the other vertical end remains parallel to the wind flow.

An inductive sensor may be eddy-current (a.k.a. Foucault currents) basedsensor, used for high-resolution non-contact measurement or a position,or a change in the position, of a conductive object (such as a metal).Eddy-Current sensors operate with magnetic fields, where a drivercreates an alternating current in a coil at the end of the probe. Thiscreates an alternating magnetic field with induces small currents (eddycurrents) in the target material. The eddy currents create an opposingmagnetic field which resists the field being generated by the probe coiland the interaction of the magnetic fields is dependent on the distancebetween the probe and the target, providing a displacement measurement.Such sensors may be used to sense the vibration and positionmeasurements, such as measurements of a rotating shaft, and to detectflaws in conductive materials, as well as in a proximity and metaldetectors.

A sensor may be an ultrasound (or ultrasonic) sensor, based ontransmitting and receiving ultrasound energy, and may be according to,or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2011/0265572 to Hoenes, entitled: “Ultrasound Transducer, UltrasoundSensor and Method for Operating an Ultrasound Sensor”, in U.S. Pat. No.7,614,305 to Yoshioka et al., entitled: “Ultrasonic Sensor”, in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0257050 to Watanabe, entitled:“Ultrasonic Sensor”, or in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2010/0242611 to Terazawa, entitled: “Ultrasonic Sensor”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

A sensor may be a solid state sensor, which is typically a semiconductordevice and which have no mobile parts, and commonly enclosed as a chip.The sensor may be according to, or based on, the sensor described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,511,547 to Markle, entitled: “Solid State Sensors”, inU.S. Pat. No. 6,747,258 to Benz et al., entitled: “Intensified HybridSolid-State Sensor with an Insulating Layer”, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,087to Jagielinski, entitled: “Large Solid State Sensor Assembly Formed fromSmaller Sensors”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,631 to Ryerson, entitled:“Solid State Sensor”, which are all incorporated in their entirety forall purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A sensor may be a nanosensor, which is a biological, chemical orphysical sensor constructed using nanoscale components, usuallymicroscopic or submicroscopic in size. A nanosensor may be according to,or based on, the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,256,466 to Lieberet al., entitled: “Nanosensors”, in U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2007/0264623 to Wang et al., entitled: “Nanosensors”, in U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2011/0045523 to Strano et al., entitled:“Optical Nenosensors Comprising Photoluminescent Nanostructures”, or inU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0275544 to Zhou et al.,entitled: “Microfluidic Integration with Nanosensor Platform”, which areall incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

A sensor may consist of, or be based on, a gyroscope, for measuringorientation is space. A conventional gyroscope is a mechanical type,consisting of a wheel or disk mounted so that it can spin rapidly aboutan axis that is itself free to alter in direction. The orientation ofthe axis is not affected by tilting of the mounting; so gyroscopes arecommonly used to provide stability or maintain a reference direction innavigation systems, automatic pilots, and stabilizers. A MEMS gyroscopemay be based on vibrating element based on the Foucault pendulumconcept. A Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG) uses the interference or light todetect mechanical rotation. A Vibrating structure Gyroscope (VSG, a.k.a.Coriolis Vibratory Gyroscope—CVG), is based on a metal alloy resonator,and may be a piezoelectric gyroscope type where a piezoelectric materialis vibrating and the lateral motion due to centrifugal force ismeasured.

In one example, the same component serves as both a sensor and as anactuator. For example, a loudspeaker may serve as a microphone, as somespeakers are structured similar to a dynamic or magnetic microphone. Inanother example, a reverse-biased LED (Light Emitting Diode) may serveas a photodiode. Further, a coil may be used to produce a magnetic fieldby excitation electrical current through it, or may be used as a sensorgenerating an electrical signal when subjected to a changing magneticfield. In another example, the piezoelectric effect may be used,converting between mechanical phenomenon and electrical signal. Atransducer is a device that converts one form of energy to another.Energy types include (but are not limited to) electrical, mechanical,electromagnetic (including light), chemical, acoustic or thermal energy.Transducers that convert to an electrical signal may serve as sensors,while transducers that convert electrical energy to another form ofenergy may serve as actuators. Reversible transducers, that are able toconvert energy both ways, may serve as both sensors and actuators. Inone example, the same component (e.g., transducer) serves at one time asa sensor, and at another time as an actuator. Further, the phenomenonsensed when serving as a sensor may be the same or different phenomenaaffected when serving as an actuator.

In one example, multiple sensors are used arranged as a sensor array,where a set of several sensors, typically identical or similar, is usedto gather information that cannot be gathered from a single sensor, orimprove the measurement or sensing relating to a single sensor. A sensorarray commonly improves the sensitivity, accuracy, resolution, and otherparameters of the sensed phenomenon, and may be arranged as a linearsensor array. The sensor array may be directional, and better measurethe parameters of the impinging signal to the array. Parameters that maybe identified include the number, magnitudes, frequencies,Direction-Of-Arrival (DOA), distances and speeds of the signals.Estimation of the DOA may be improved in far-field signal applications,and may be based on Spectral-based (Non-parametric) that is based onmaximizing the power of the beamforming output for a given input signal(such as Barlett beamformer, Capon beamformer and MUSIC beamformer), ormay be based on Parametric approaches that is based on minimizingquadratic penalty functions. The processing of the entire sensor arrayoutputs, such as to obtain a single measurement or a single parameter,may be performed by a dedicated processor, which may be part of thesensor array assembly, may be performed in the processor of the fieldunit, may be performed by the processor in the router, may be performedas part of the controller functionality (e.g., in the control server),or any combination thereof. Further, sensor array may be used to sense aphenomenon pattern in a surface or in space, as well as the phenomenonmotion or distribution in a location.

Alternatively or in addition, a sensor, a sensor technology, a sensorconditioning or handling circuits, or a sensor application, may beaccording to the book entitled: “Sensors and Control Systems inmanufacturing”, Second Edition 2010, by Sabrie Soloman, The McGraw-HillCompanies, ISBN: 978-0-07-160573-1, or according to the book entitled:“Fundamentals of Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control”, byWilliam C. Dunn, 2005, The McGraw-Hill Companies, ISBN: 0-07-145735-6,or according to the book entitled: “Sensor technology Handbook”, Editedby Jon Wilson, by Newnes-Elsevier 2005, ISBN:0-7506-7729-5, which areall incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

In one example, the sensor 51 is used for measuring magnetic orelectrical quantities such as voltage (e.g., voltmeter), current (e.g.,ampermeter), resistance (e.g., ohmmeter), conductance, reactance,magnetic flux, electrical charge, magnetic field (e.g., Hall sensor),electric field, electric power (e.g., electricity meter), S-matrix(e.g., network analyzer), power spectrum (e.g., spectrum analyzer),inductance, capacitance, impedance, phase, noise (amplitude or phase),transconductance, transimpedance, and frequency. In one example shown inarrangement 500 a in FIG. 5a , part of a sensor unit 50 a is shown,including an ampermeter 57 which is corresponding to the sensor 51,connected between a power source 56 a and a power consuming circuit orload 58. In such arrangement, the current consumed by the load 58 ismeasured. The power source 56 a may be any type of power source or powersupply, and may provide AC or DC voltage or current. The power source 56a connects via a cable ending with connector 59 a to a mating connector59 b that is part of the sensor unit 50 a. The load 58 is connected viaa cable terminating with a connector 59 d to a mating connector 59 cthat is part of the sensor unit 50 a. The load 58 may be any powerconsuming circuit, such as an actuator 61, a home appliance or any othertype of equipment. The power source 56 a (or power supply) may be thesame power source used to power the circuits of the sensor unit 50 a, ormay be a separate power source used for powering the load 58 where thesensor unit 50 a uses a separate power source.

While the power source 56 a was exampled in FIG. 5a as separated fromthe sensor unit 50 a and connected thereto via a cable, the power source56 a may equally be integrated with the sensor unit 50 a. Suchintegration may take the form of sharing the same enclosure, or wherethe power source 56 a is also used to power at least part of the sensorunit 50 a circuits. While the load 58 was exampled in FIG. 5a asseparated from the sensor unit 50 a and connected thereto via a cable,the load 58 may equally be integrated with the sensor unit 50 a. Suchintegration may take the form of sharing the same enclosure, or wherethe power source of the load 58 is also used to power at least part ofthe sensor unit 50 a circuits. Other types of integration may involvesharing the computer 53 or sharing any other circuits orfunctionalities.

Referring now to FIG. 5b , showing an arrangement 500 b where a sensorunit 50 b is used for sensing the power consumed by an AC-poweredappliance 58 a. The appliance 58 a corresponds to load 58, and isconnected via cable and AC power connectors 59 h and 59 g to the sensorunit 50 b. The appliance 58 a is power fed from an AC power via the ACpower plug 68, connected via AC power cable 67 to the sensor unit 50 bvia AC power connectors 59 e and 59 f. The ampermeter 57 a(corresponding to ampermeter 57) is operative for measuring the ACcurrent flowing through it, and thus measure the power consumed by theappliance 58 a. The appliance 58 a may be a major appliance (whitegoods) and may be an air conditioner, dishwasher, clothes dryer, dryingcabinet, freezer, refrigerator, kitchen stove, water heater, washingmachine, trash compactor, microwave oven and induction cooker. Theappliance 58 a may similarly be a ‘small’ appliance such as television(TV) set, CD or DVD player, camcorder, still camera, clock, alarm clock,video game console, HiFi or home cinema, telephone or answering machine.

In one example, the sensor element includes a solar cell or photovoltaiccell, for sensing or measuring light intensity. The luminance iscommonly measured in Lux (lx) units, the luminous flux is measured inLumens (lm), and the luminous intensity is commonly measured in Candela(cd) units. A solar cell (also called photovoltaic cell or photoelectriccell) is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy oflight directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Assembliesof solar cells are used to make solar modules which are used to captureenergy from sunlight. Cells are described as photovoltaic cells when thelight source is not necessarily sunlight. These are used for detectinglight or other electromagnetic radiation near the visible range, forexample infrared detectors, or measurement of light intensity. The solarcell works in three steps: Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel andare absorbed by semiconducting materials, such as silicon, electrons(negatively charged) are knocked loose from their atoms, causing anelectric potential difference, and current starts flowing through thematerial to cancel the potential and this electricity is captured. Dueto the special composition of solar cells, the electrons are onlyallowed to move in a single direction. An array of solar cells convertssolar energy into a usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity.

Materials for efficient solar cells must have characteristics matched tothe spectrum of available light. Some cells are designed to efficientlyconvert wavelengths of solar light that reach the Earth's surface.However, some solar cells are optimized for light absorption beyondEarth's atmosphere as well. Light absorbing materials can often be usedin multiple physical configurations to take advantage of different lightabsorption and charge separation mechanisms. Materials presently usedfor photovoltaic solar cells include monocrystalline silicon,polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, andcopper indium selenide/sulfide. Many currently available solar cells aremade from bulk materials that are cut into wafers between 180 to 240micrometers thick that are then processed like other semiconductors.Other materials are made as thin-film layers, organic dyes, and organicpolymers that are deposited on supporting substrates. A third group ismade of nanocrystals and used as quantum dots (electron-confinednanoparticles). Silicon remains the only material that iswell-researched in both bulk and thin-film forms. The most prevalentbulk material for solar cells is crystalline silicon (abbreviated as agroup as c-Si), also known as “solar grade silicon”. Bulk silicon isseparated into multiple categories according to crystallinity andcrystal size in the resulting ingot, ribbon, or wafer.

A sensor redundancy may be used in order to improve availability andreliability. In such arrangement, two or more sensor elements 51 areused in parallel, allowing for improved robustness and allowing forovercoming a single point of failure (SPOF). Two or more sensor elements51 may be used, all sensing or measuring the same physical phenomenon.An example of a redundant arrangement 500 c is shown in FIG. 5c ,showing two sensor units 50 c and 50 d. The sensor unit 50 c includes asensor element 51 c, connected to A/D converter 52 c, which in turn isconnected to computer 53 c. The measured value (or any representationthereof) is transmitted via the wireless modem 54 c and antenna 55 c,and the sensor unit 50 c is powered from a power source 56 c. Similarly,the sensor unit 50 d includes a sensor element 51 d, connected to A/Dconverter 52 d, which in turn is connected to computer 53 d. Themeasured value (or any representation thereof) is transmitted via thewireless modem 54 d and antenna 55 d, and the sensor unit 50 d ispowered from a power source 56 d. The two sensor elements 51 c and 51 dare located, installed, oriented, or otherwise arranged to sense ormeasure the same physical phenomenon 501. The sensor elements 51 c and51 d may be different, similar, substantially the same, or of the sametype. For example, both sensor elements 51 c and 51 d may be temperaturesensors, and may be adjacently located to sense the temperature at thesame place, or may be both attached to a surface to measure the surfacetemperature. While two sensor units 50 c and 50 d are described in FIG.5c , three, four or any other number of sensor units may be equallyused. In such configuration, a single failure in one of the sensor units50 c and 50 d, the monitored phenomenon 501 may still be sensed ormeasured.

While the two sensor units 50 c and 50 d were described as having thesame structure, other arrangement may be equally used, and the two (ormore) sensor units may be different, similar, substantially or fully thesame. While both sensor units 50 c and 50 d were exampled as having awireless interface via the wireless modem 54 and antenna 55, otherconfigurations may equally be used, for example where one sensor unit 50use wireless communication and the other use a wired communication.Further, one sensor element may be of analog output type while the othermay be a digital sensor element, where the use of A/D converter 52 isobviated.

While two separated sensor units 50 c and 50 d were described in FIG. 5c, the two devices may be partially or fully integrated with each other.For example, both sensor units 50 may share the same enclosure, samepower source 56, same computer 53, or any other hardware, software orany other functionality. Such integration provides economical benefitdue to the saving of the non-duplicated part. In one example, the twosensor elements are part of a single sensor unit 50 d, as shown inarrangement 500 d in FIG. 5d . The sensor unit 50 e corresponds to thesensor unit 50 shown in FIG. 5, where the two sensors 51 a and 51 b areused to sense the same phenomenon. Applying such a concept to currentmeasurement facility shown in FIG. 5b above is described in arrangement500 e shown in FIG. 5e . The sensor unit 50 f shown corresponds tosensor unit 50 e shown in FIG. 5d , where the two sensors are the twoampermeters 57 a and 57 b, connected in series such that bothampermeters 57 a and 57 b measure the current flow from the AC powersource via the power plug 68 to the appliance 58 a. While the redundantsensors have been exampled with regard to the added reliability andavailability, other benefits may as well be provided. For example, theaverage of the two (or more) sensors may be calculated and used,providing higher accuracy. Further, the multiple sensors may serve assensor array as disclosed herein.

In one example, redundancy is employed in the communication of a sensorunit (or a field unit) with the router 21 or with another field unit. Anexample of a sensor unit 50 g having two communication ports is shown inFIG. 5g . The sensor unit 50 g corresponds to the sensor unit 50 shownin FIG. 5 above, with an additional communication port. The addedcommunication port is a wired port including a wired modem 64 coupled tothe connector 65 b, for connecting to a cable 69 connected via themating connector 65 a, similar to the wired communication port describedfor actuator unit 60 shown in FIG. 6 below. While sensor unit 50 g isexampled as having two communication ports, three or more ports may beequally used. Further, while sensor unit 50 g is exampled havingdifferent and distinct communication ports, the wired communication port(comprising connector 65 b and wired modem 64) and the wirelesscommunication port (comprising wireless modem 54 and antenna 55), thetwo (or more) ports may as well similar or identical, and may becommunicating over the same network or via two (or more) distinctnetworks). For example, the two ports may be wireless based, oralternately the two ports may be wired based.

A system employing two ports unit is shown as arrangement 500 g in FIG.5h . The arrangement 500 g corresponds to the system 20 shown in FIG. 2,where the field unit 23 d (replacing the one-port field unit 23 a) isshown, and may correspond to the sensor unit 50 g having twocommunication ports. In arrangement 500 g, the two ports are identical(or similar), and the field unit 23 d communicates using its twocommunication ports over the same control network 22, over the twocommunication routes 500 a and 500 b, each corresponds to a respectivecommunication port. Arrangement 500 h shown in FIG. 5i describes thecase where the field unit uses two distinct ports, for communicationover two distinct networks 22 a and 22 b, respectively via connections500 c and 500 d. As shown in the arrangement 500 h, the control networks22 a and 22 b may be connected to two distinct communication ports inthe router 21 via the connections 500 e and 500 f. For example, thefield unit 23 d may correspond to the sensor unit 50 g, where thecontrol network 22 a may be a wired network using the cable 69, andconnected to the wired port of the unit 50 g, such as using connector 65b and wired modem 64. Similarly, the field unit 23 d may correspond tothe sensor unit 50 g, where the control network 22 b may be a wirelessnetwork, and coupled to the wireless port of the unit 50 g, such asusing antenna 55 and wireless modem 54. Further, the router 21 maycorrespond to the router 40 a shown in FIG. 4a , where the wired controlnetwork 22 a is connected to the wired port of the router 40 a, that maycomprise connector 41 and wired modem 42 b, while the wireless controlnetwork 22 b is connected to the wireless port of the router 40 a, thatmay comprise antenna 44 and wireless modem 43. Such an arrangementallows for two redundant data paths 500 g and 500 h between the fieldunit 23 d and the router 21, as shown in arrangement 500 i in FIG. 5 j.

The operation of the redundant communication routes 500 g and 500 hbetween the field unit 23 d and the router 21 may be based on standbyredundancy, (a.k.a. Backup Redundancy), where one of the data paths orthe associated hardware is considered as a primary unit, and the otherdata path (or the associated hardware) is considered as the secondaryunit, serving as back up to the primary unit. The secondary unittypically does not monitor the system, but is there just as a spare. Thestandby unit is not usually kept in sync with the primary unit, so itmust reconcile its input and output signals on the takeover of thecommunication. This approach does lend itself to give a “bump” ontransfer, meaning the secondary operation may not be in sync with thelast system state of the primary unit. Such mechanism may require awatchdog, which monitors the system to decide when a switchovercondition is met, and command the system to switch control to thestandby unit. Standby redundancy configurations commonly employ twobasic types, namely ‘Cold Standby’ and ‘Hot Standby’.

In cold standby state, the secondary unit is either powered off orotherwise non-active in the system operation, thus preserving thereliability of the unit. The drawback of this design is that thedowntime is greater than in hot standby, because the standby unit needsto be powered up or activated, and brought online into a known state.

On hot standby state, the secondary unit is powered up or otherwise keptoperational, and can optionally monitor the system. The secondary unitmay serve as the watchdog and/or voter to decide when to switch over,thus eliminating the need for an additional hardware for this job. Thisdesign does not preserve the reliability of the standby unit as well asthe cold standby design. However, it shortens the downtime, which inturn increases the availability of the system. Some flavors of HotStandby are similar to Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) or ParallelRedundancy. The main difference between Hot Standby and DMR is howtightly the primary and the secondary are synchronized. DMR completelysynchronizes the primary and secondary units.

While a redundancy of two was exampled above, where two data paths andtwo hardware devices were used, a redundancy involving three or moredata paths or systems may be equally used. The term ‘N’ ModularRedundancy, (a.k.a. Parallel Redundancy) refers to the approach ofhaving multiply units or data paths running in parallel. All units arehighly synchronized and receive the same input information at the sametime. Their output values are then compared and a voter decides whichoutput values should be used. This model easily provides ‘bumpless’switchovers. This model typically has faster switchover times than HotStandby models, thus the system availability is very high, but becauseall the units are powered up and actively engaged with the systemoperation, the system is at more risk of encountering a common modefailure across all the units.

Deciding which unit is correct may be challenging if only two units areused. If more than two units are used, the problem is simpler, usuallythe majority wins or the two that agree win. In N Modular Redundancy,there are three main typologies: Dual Modular Redundancy, Triple ModularRedundancy, and Quadruple Redundancy. Quadruple Modular Redundancy (QMR)is fundamentally similar to TMR but using four units instead of three toincrease the reliability. The obvious drawback is the 4× increase insystem cost.

Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) uses two functional equivalent units, thuseither can control or support the system operation. The most challengingaspect of DMR is determining when to switch over to the secondary unit.Because both units are monitoring the application, a mechanism is neededto decide what to do if they disagree. Either a tiebreaker vote orsimply the secondary unit may be designated as the default winner,assuming it is more trustworthy than the primary unit. Triple ModularRedundancy (TMR) uses three functional equivalent units to provide aredundant backup. This approach is very common in aerospace applicationswhere the cost of failure is extremely high. TMR is more reliable thanDMR due to two main aspects. The most obvious reason is that two“standby” units are used instead of just one. The other reason is thatin a technique called diversity platforms or diversity programming maybe applied. In this technique, different software or hardware platformsare used on the redundant systems to prevent common mode failure. Thevoter decides which unit will actively control the application. WithTMR, the decision of which system to trust is made democratically andthe majority rules. If three different answers are obtained, the votermust decide which system to trust or shut down the entire system, thusthe switchover decision is straightforward and fast.

Another redundancy topology is 1:N Redundancy, where a single backup isused for multiple systems, and this backup is able to function in theplace of any single one of the active systems. This technique offersredundancy at a much lower cost than the other models by using onestandby unit for several primary units. This approach only works wellwhen the primary units all have very similar functions, thus allowingthe standby to back up any of the primary units if one of them fails.

While the redundant data paths have been exampled with regard to theadded reliability and availability, redundant data paths may as well beused in order to provide higher aggregated data rate, allowing forfaster response and faster transfer of data over the multiple datapaths.

A sensor may be an image sensor, for converting an optical image into anelectrical signal, as exampled in sensor unit 50 f shown in FIG. 5f . Inone example, a sensor unit 50 f may consist, may include, or may beintegrated with, a digital still camera or a video camera. The sensorunit 50 f may include lens 502 (one or few lenses) for focusing thereceived light onto a small semiconductor sensor, serving as the imagesensor 503. The image sensor 503 commonly includes a panel with a matrixof tiny light-sensitive diodes (photocells), converting the image lightto electric charges and then to electric signals, thus creating a videopicture or a still image by recording the light intensity.Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) and CMOS (ComplementaryMetal-Oxide-Semiconductor) are commonly used as the light-sensitivediodes. Linear or area arrays of light-sensitive elements may be used,and the light sensitive sensors may support monochrome (black & white),color or both. For example, the CCD sensor KAI-2093 Image Sensor 1920(H)×1080 (V) Interline CCD Image Sensor or KAF-50100 Image Sensor 8176(H)×6132 (V) Full-Frame CCD Image Sensor can be used, available fromImage Sensor Solutions, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y.

The sensor unit 50 f may further include an image processor block 504comprising an AFE, connected to receive the analog signal from the imagesensor 503. The Analog Front End (AFE) in the image processor block 504filters, amplifies and digitizes the signal, using an analog-to-digital(A/D) converter. The AFE further provides correlated double sampling(CDS), and provides a gain control to accommodate varying illuminationconditions. In the case of a CCD sensor, a CCD AFE (Analog Front End)component may be used between the digital image processor and the imagesensor. Such an AFE may be based on VSP2560 ‘CCD Analog Front End forDigital Cameras’ from Texas Instruments Incorporated of Dallas Tex.,U.S.A. The image processor block 504 may further contain a digital imageprocessor, which receives the digital data from the AFE, and processesthis digital representation of the image to handle variousindustry-standards, and to execute various computations and algorithms.Preferably, additional image enhancements may be performed by the block504 such as generating greater pixel density or adjusting color balance,contrast and luminance. Further, the block 504 may perform other datamanagement functions and processing on the raw digital image data.Commonly, the timing relationship of the vertical/horizontal referencesignals and the pixel clock are also handled in this block. DigitalMedia System-on-Chip device TMS320DM357 from Texas InstrumentsIncorporated of Dallas Tex., U.S.A. is an example of a deviceimplementing in a single chip (and associated circuitry) part or entireof the image processor 504, part or entire of the video compressor 505and part or entire of a transceiver. In addition to a lens 502 or lenssystem, color filters may be placed between the imaging optics and thephotosensor array 503 to achieve desired color manipulation. The block504 may further convert the raw data received from the photosensor array503 into a color-corrected image in a standard image file format. Whilethe image processor 504 may be a separate and dedicated processor, theimage processor functionality in the block 504 may be integrated, inwhole or in part, in the computer 53 functions or its software/firmware,such that a single processor executes both the image processing relatingfunctionalities and other required functionalities (e.g., communicationcontrol) associated with the sensor unit 50 f operations.

The block 504 may convert the raw data received from the photosensorarray serving as the image sensor 503 into a color-corrected image in astandard image file format. Examples of formats that can be used torepresent the original or compressed captured image are TIFF (TaggedImage File Format), RAW format, AVI (Audio Video Interleaved), DV (suchas based on IEC 61834), MOV, WMV (Windows Media Video), MP4 (Such asISO/IEC 14496-14:2003), DCF (Design Rule for Camera Format), ITU-TH.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, ITU-T CCIR 601, ASF, Exif (ExchangeableImage File Format), and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standards. Inmany cases, video data is compressed before transmission, in order toallow its transmission over a reduced bandwidth transmission system. Avideo compressor 505 (or video encoder) is shown as part of the sensorunit 50 f in FIG. 5f coupled between the image processor 504 and thecomputer 53, allowing for compression of the digital video signal beforeits transmission over a communication medium. In some cases compressionwill not be required, hence obviating the need for such a compressor505. Such compression can be lossy or lossless types. Common compressionalgorithms are JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and MPEG (MovingPicture Experts Group). For example, the compression can be based onADV212 JPEG 2000 Video Codec, available from Analog Devices, Inc., fromNorwood, Mass., U.S.A. The above and other image or video compressiontechniques can make use of intraframe compression commonly based onregistering the differences between part of single frame or a singleimage. An interframe compression can further be used for video streams,based on registering differences between frames. Other examples of imageprocessing include run length encoding and delta modulation. Further,the image can be dynamically dithered to allow the displayed image toappear to have higher resolution and quality. While the video compressor505 may be a separate and dedicated processor, the compressionfunctionality in the block 505 may be integrated, in whole or in part,in the computer 53 functions or its software/firmware, such that asingle processor executes both the image processing relatingfunctionalities and other required functionalities (e.g., communicationcontrol) associated with the sensor unit 50 f operations. Further, thecompression functionality in the block 505 may be integrated, in wholeor in part, with the image processor 504 functions or itssoftware/firmware, such that a single processor executes both the imageprocessing and image compressing relating functionalities.

Referring now to FIG. 6 where an example of an actuator unit 60 isshown. The actuator unit 60 includes two actuator elements 61 a and 61b. In the case of analog actuators having an analog signal input, suchas analog voltage, analog current or continuously changing impedance, aDigital to Analog (D/A) converter is coupled to the actuator element 61input, that converts a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal(current, voltage or electric charge), for converting the digitalcontrol signal to an analog signal. The actuator 61 a input is connectedto the output of D/A 62 a, and the actuator 61 b input is connected tothe output of D/A 62 b. While two actuator elements 61 a and 61 b areshown, an actuator unit may equally include a single actuator element orany number of actuators, where D/A may be connected to each analogactuator input. A computer 63, commonly a small size microprocessor, isconnected to the D/A 62 a and 62 b, and provides the values representingthe actuator operation by the actuators 61 a and 61 b. The computer 63further controls and manages the sensor unit 60 operation. The actuatorunit communicates via the cable 69 terminated with a connector 65 a,connected to by connector 65 which mates the cable connector 65 a. Theconnector 65 a connects to the wired modem 64 (or a wired transceiver).The computer 63 may thus communicate with any gateway, router, or othersensor unit via the cable 69. While exampled using a wired communicationsuch as a cable, the actuator unit 60 may equally use a wireless (e.g.,over-the-air) communication, where the modem 64 is replaced with awireless modem (or transceiver), and the connector 65 is replaced withan antenna. The actuator elements may be identical, similar or differentfrom each other. For example, some actuators may be analog while othersare digital actuators. In another example, different actuators mayrelate to different physical phenomena. An actuator unit may be inaccordance with, or base on, U.S. Pat. No. 7,898,147 to Grabinger et al.entitled: “Wireless Actuator Interface”, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

An analog actuator element such as an actuator 61 produces a physical,chemical, or biological action, stimulation or phenomenon, such as achanging or generating temperature, humidity, pressure, audio,vibration, light, motion, sound, proximity, flow rate, electricalvoltage, and electrical current, in response to the electrical input(current or voltage). For example, an actuator may provide visual oraudible signaling, or physical movement. An actuator may include motors,winches, fans, reciprocating elements, extending or retracting, andenergy conversion elements, as well as a heater or a cooler. In the caseof an analog actuator having an analog input, a Digital-to-Analog (D/A)converter 52, that converts a digital (usually binary) code to an analogsignal (current, voltage or electric charge), is coupled to the actuatorinput. A signal conditioning circuit may be used to adapt between theD/A converter 52 output and the input of analog actuator 61. In the casethe actuator is a digital actuator having a digital input, the actuatormay be coupled to the computer 63 directly or via a communication link,thus obviating the need for any signal conditioning. For example, anactuator 61 may include motors, winches, fans, reciprocating elements,extending or retracting, and energy conversion elements. In addition,heaters or coolers may be used. Further, an actuator 61 may include anindicator for indicating free-form, shape, form, amorphous, abstract,conceptual, representational, organic, biomorphic, partially geometric,conventional, unconventional, multi-sided, natural, figurative,recognizable concept, geometric, amorphous, abstract, organic, virtual,irregular, regular, biomorphic, conventional, unconventional, symmetric,asymmetric, man-made, composite, geometric, letter, number, code, andsymbol.

The actuator 61 may be or may include a visual or audible signalingdevice, or any other device that indicates a status to the person. Inone example, the device illuminates a visible light, such as aLight-Emitting-Diode (LED). However, any type of visible electric lightemitter such as a flashlight, an incandescent lamp and compactfluorescent lamps can be used. Multiple light emitters may be used, andthe illumination may be steady, blinking or flashing. Further, theillumination can be directed for lighting a surface, such as a surfaceincluding an image or a picture. Further, a single single-state visualindicator may be used to provide multiple indications, for example byusing different colors (of the same visual indicator), differentintensity levels, variable duty-cycle and so forth.

In one example, the actuator 61 includes a solenoid, which is typicallya coil wound into a packed helix, and used to convert electrical energyinto a magnetic field. Commonly, an electromechanical solenoid is usedto convert energy into linear motion. Such electromagnetic solenoidcommonly consists of an electromagnetically inductive coil, wound arounda movable steel or iron slug (the armature), and shaped such that thearmature can be moved along the coil center. In one example, theactuator 61 may include a solenoid valve, used to actuate a pneumaticvalve, where the air is routed to a pneumatic device, or a hydraulicvalve, used to control the flow of a hydraulic fluid. In anotherexample, the electromechanical solenoid is used to operate an electricalswitch. Similarly, a rotary solenoid may be used, where the solenoid isused to rotate a ratcheting mechanism when power is applied.

In one example, the actuator 61 is used for effecting or changingmagnetic or electrical quantities such as voltage, current, resistance,conductance, reactance, magnetic flux, electrical charge, magneticfield, electric field, electric power, S-matrix, power spectrum,inductance, capacitance, impedance, phase, noise (amplitude or phase),trans-conductance, trans-impedance, and frequency. In one example shownin arrangement 600 a in FIG. 6a , part of an actuator unit 60 a isshown, including a controlled switch 601 which is corresponding to theactuator 61, connected between a power source 56 a and a power consumingcircuit or load 58. The switch 601 may be implemented by a relay, anoptocoupler, a solid state circuitry or any other controlled switchesknown in the art.

In such arrangement, the power to the load 58 may be turned on and offunder the control of the actuator unit 60 a. The power source 56 a maybe any type of power source or power supply, and may provide AC or DCvoltage or current. The power source 56 a connects via a cable endingwith connector 59 a to a mating connector 59 b that is part of theactuator unit 60 a. The load 58 is connected via a cable terminatingwith a connector 59 d to a mating connector 59 c that is part of theactuator unit 60 a. The load 58 may be any power consuming circuit, suchas an actuator 61, a home appliance or any other type of equipment. Thepower source 56 a (or power supply) may be the same power source used topower the circuits of the actuator unit 60 a, or may be a separate powersource used for powering the load 58 while the actuator unit 60 a uses aseparate power source.

While the power source 56 a was exampled in FIG. 6a as separated fromthe actuator unit 60 a and connected thereto via a cable, the powersource 56 a may equally be integrated with the actuator unit 60 a. Suchintegration may take the form of sharing the same enclosure, or wherethe power source 56 a is also used to power at least part of theactuator unit 60 a circuits. While the load 58 was exampled in FIG. 6aas separated from the actuator unit 60 a and connected thereto via acable, the load 58 may equally be integrated with the actuator unit 60a. Such integration may take the form of sharing the same enclosure, orwhere the power source of the load 58 is also used to power at leastpart of the actuator unit 60 a circuits. Other types of integration mayinvolve sharing the computer 53 or sharing any other circuits orfunctionalities.

Referring now to FIG. 6b showing an arrangement 600 b where an actuatorunit 60 b is used, for controlling the power that is supplied to anAC-powered appliance 58 a. The appliance 58 a corresponds to load 58,and is connected via cable and AC power connectors 59 h and 59 g to theactuator unit 60 b. The appliance 58 a is power fed from an AC power viathe AC power plug 68, connected via AC power cable 67 to the actuatorunit 60 b via AC power connectors 59 e and 59 f. The AC power switch 601a (corresponding to switch 601) is operative for enabling the AC currentflowing through it, and thus control the power supplied to the appliance58 a. The appliance 58 a may be a major appliance (white goods) and maybe an air conditioner, dishwasher, clothes dryer, drying cabinet,freezer, refrigerator, kitchen stove, water heater, washing machine,trash compactor, microwave oven and induction cooker. The appliance 58 amay similarly be a ‘small’ appliance such as TV set, CD or DVD player,camcorder, still camera, clock, alarm clock, video game console, HiFi orhome cinema, telephone or answering machine.

An actuator redundancy may be used in order to improve availability andreliability. In such arrangement, two or more actuator elements 61 areused, allowing for improved robustness and allowing for overcoming aSingle Point of Failure (SPOF). Two or more actuator elements 61 may beused, all creating, affecting or changing the same physical phenomenon.An example of a redundant arrangement 600 c is shown in FIG. 6c ,showing two actuator units 60 c and 60 d. The actuator unit 60 cincludes an actuator element 61 c, connected to D/A converter 62 c,which in turn is connected to computer 63 c. The value to actuate (orany representation thereof) is received via the wireless modem Mc andantenna 55 c, and the actuator unit 60 c is powered from a power source56 c. Similarly, the actuator unit 60 d includes an actuator element 61d, connected to D/A converter 62 d, which in turn is connected tocomputer 63 d. The actuator control information (or any representationthereof) is received via the wireless modem 54 d and antenna 55 d, andthe actuator unit 60 d is powered from a power source 56 d. The twoactuator elements 61 c and 61 d are located, installed, oriented, orotherwise arranged to affect, generate, create or change the samephysical phenomenon 601. The actuator elements 61 c and 61 d may bedifferent, similar, substantially the same, or of the same type orfunctionality. For example, both actuator elements 61 c and 61 d may betemperature actuators such as heaters, and may be adjacently located toprovide heating at the same place, or both may be attached to a surfaceto change the surface temperature. In such configuration, a singlefailure in one of the actuator units 60 c and 60 d, the affectedphenomenon 601 may still be actuated. While two actuator units 60 c and60 d are described in FIG. 6c , three, four or any other number ofactuator units may be equally used.

While the two actuator units 60 c and 60 d were described as having thesame structure, other arrangement may be equally used, and the two (ormore) actuator units may be different, similar, substantially or fullythe same type or functionality. While both actuator units 60 c and 60 dwere exampled as having a wireless interface via the wireless modem 54and antenna 55, other configurations may equally be used, for examplewhere one actuator unit 60 use wireless communication and the other usea wired communication. Further, one actuator element may be of analogcontrol input type while the other may be a digital actuator element,where the use of D/A converter 62 is obviated.

While two separated actuator units 60 c and 60 d were described in FIG.6c , the two devices may be partially or fully integrated with eachother. For example, both actuator units 60 may share the same enclosure,same power source 56, same computer 63, or any other hardware, softwareor any other functionality. Such integration provides economical benefitdue to the saving of the non-duplicated part. In one example, the twoactuator elements are part of a single actuator unit 60 e, as shown inthe arrangement 600 d in FIG. 6d . The actuator unit 60 e corresponds tothe actuator unit 60 shown in FIG. 5, where the two actuators 61 a and61 b are used to affect the same phenomenon. Applying such a concept topower switching facility shown in FIG. 6b above is described inarrangement 600 e which is shown in FIG. 6e . The shown actuator unit 60f corresponds to actuator unit 60 e that is shown in FIG. 6d , where thetwo actuators are the two power switches 601 a and 601 b, connected inseries such that both power switches 601 a and 601 b are required tooperate in order to allow the current flow from the AC power source viathe power plug 68 to the appliance 58 a. Hence, in case of malfunctionwhere only one power switch 601 is activated, the appliance 58 a willnot be turned on. Alternatively or in addition, applying such a conceptto power switching facility shown in FIG. 6b above is described inarrangement 600 f shown in FIG. 6f . The actuator unit 60 g showncorresponds to actuator unit 60 e that is shown in FIG. 6d , where thetwo actuators are the two power switches 601 a and 601 b, connected inparallel such that one of the power switches 601 a and 601 b is requiredto operate in order to allow the current flow from the AC power sourcevia the power plug 68 to the appliance 58 a. Hence, in case ofmalfunction where only one power switch 601 is activated, the appliance58 a will be turned on.

In one example, redundancy is employed in the communication of anactuator unit (or a field unit) with the router 21 or with another fieldunit. An example of an actuator unit 60 h having two communication portsis shown in FIG. 6g . The actuator unit 60 h corresponds to the actuatorunit 60 shown in FIG. 6 above, with an additional communication port.The added communication port is a wireless port including a wirelessmodem 44 coupled to an antenna 55, similar to the wireless communicationport described for sensor unit 50 shown in FIG. 5 above. While actuatorunit 60 h is exampled as having two communication ports, three or moreports may be equally used. Further, while actuator unit 60 h is exampledhaving different and distinct communication ports, the wiredcommunication port (comprising the connector 65 b and the wired modem64) and the wireless communication port (comprising the wireless modem54 and the antenna 55), the two (or more) ports may as well similar oridentical, and may be used for communicating over the same network orvia two (or more) distinct networks. For example, the two ports may bewireless based, or alternately the two ports may be wired based. Whilethe arrangements 500 g, 500 h and 500 i shown in the respective FIG. 5h, FIG. 5i and FIG. 5j above were exampled where the field unit 23 d in asensor unit, it may equally be any field unit, and further may be anactuator unit, such as the actuator unit 50 g shown in FIG. 5 g.

The actuator 61 is a mechanism, system, or device that creates,produces, changes, stimulates, or affects a phenomenon, in response toan electrical signal or an electrical power. An actuator may affect aphysical, chemical, biological or any other phenomenon, serving as astimulus to the sensor. Alternatively or in addition, the actuator mayaffect the magnitude of the phenomenon, or any parameter or quantitythereof. For example, the actuator may be used to affect or changepressure, flow, force or other mechanical quantities. The actuator maybe an electrical actuator, where electrical energy is supplied to affectthe phenomenon, or may be controlled by an electrical signal (e.g.,voltage or current). A signal conditioning may be used in order to adaptthe actuator operation, or in order to improve the handling of theactuator input or adapting it to the former stage or manipulating, suchas attenuation, delay, current or voltage limiting, level translation,galvanic isolation, impedance transformation, linearization,calibration, filtering, amplifying, digitizing, integration, derivation,and any other signal manipulation. Further, in the case of conditioning,the conditioning circuit may involve time related manipulation, such asfilter or equalizer for frequency related manipulation such asfiltering, spectrum analysis or noise removal, smoothing or de-blurringin case of image enhancement, a compressor (or de-compressor) or coder(or decoder) in the case of a compression or a coding/decoding schemes,modulator or demodulator in case of modulation, and extractor forextracting or detecting a feature or parameter such as patternrecognition or correlation analysis. In case of filtering, passive,active or adaptive (such as Wiener or Kalman) filters may be used. Theconditioning circuits may apply linear or non-linear manipulations.Further, the manipulation may be time-related such as using analog ordigital delay-lines or integrators, or any rate-based manipulation. Anactuator 61 may have an analog input, requiring a D/A 62 to be connectedthereto, or may have a digital input.

The actuator may directly or indirectly create, change or otherwiseaffect the rate of change of the physical quantity (gradient) versus thedirection around a particular location, or between different locations.For example, a temperature gradient may describe the differences in thetemperature between different locations. Further, an actuator may affecttime-dependent or time-manipulated values of the phenomenon, such astime-integrated, average or Root Mean Square (RMS or rms), relating tothe square root of the mean of the squares of a series of discretevalues (or the equivalent square root of the integral in a continuouslyvarying value). Further, a parameter relating to the time dependency ofa repeating phenomenon may be affected, such as the duty-cycle, thefrequency (commonly measured in Hertz—Hz) or the period. An actuator maybe based on the Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems—MEMS (a.k.a.Micro-mechanical electrical systems) technology. An actuator may affectenvironmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, noise,vibration, fumes, odors, toxic conditions, dust, and ventilation.

An actuator may change, increase, reduce, or otherwise affect the amountof a property or of a physical quantity or the magnitude relating to aphysical phenomenon, body or substance.

Alternatively or in addition, an actuator may be used to affect the timederivative thereof, such as the rate of change of the amount, thequantity or the magnitude. In the case of space related quantity ormagnitude, an actuator may affect the linear density, relating to theamount of property per length, an actuator may affect the surfacedensity, relating to the amount of property per area, or an actuator mayaffect the volume density, relating to the amount of property pervolume. In the case of a scalar field, an actuator may further affectthe quantity gradient, relating to the rate of change of property withrespect to position. Alternatively or in addition, an actuator mayaffect the flux (or flow) of a property through a cross-section orsurface boundary. Alternatively or in addition, an actuator may affectthe flux density, relating to the flow of property through across-section per unit of the cross-section, or through a surfaceboundary per unit of the surface area. Alternatively or in addition, anactuator may affect the current, relating to the rate of flow ofproperty through a cross-section or a surface boundary, or the currentdensity, relating to the rate of flow of property per unit through across-section or a surface boundary. An actuator may include or consistsof a transducer, defined herein as a device for converting energy fromone form to another for the purpose of measurement of a physicalquantity or for information transfer. Further, a single actuator may beused to affect two or more phenomena. For example, two characteristicsof the same element may be affected, each characteristic correspondingto a different phenomenon. An actuator may have multiple states, wherethe actuator state is depending upon the control signal input. Anactuator may have a two state operation such as ‘on’ (active) and ‘off’(non active), based on a binary input such as ‘0’ or ‘1’, or ‘true’ and‘false’. In such a case, it can be activated by controlling anelectrical power supplied or switched to it, such as by an electricswitch.

An actuator may be a light source used to emit light by convertingelectrical energy into light, and where the luminous intensity is fixedor may be controlled, commonly for illumination or indicating purposes.Further, an actuator may be used to activate or control the lightemitted by a light source, being based on converting electrical energyor other energy to a light. The light emitted may be a visible light, orinvisible light such as infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray or gamma rays. Ashade, reflector, enclosing globe, housing, lens, and other accessoriesmay be used, typically as part of a light fixture, in order to controlthe illumination intensity, shape or direction. The illumination (or theindication) may be steady, blinking or flashing. Further, theillumination can be directed for lighting a surface, such as a surfaceincluding an image or a picture. Further, a single single-state visualindicator may be used to provide multiple indications, for example byusing different colors (of the same visual indicator), differentintensity levels, variable duty-cycle and so forth.

Electrical sources of illumination commonly use a gas, a plasma (such asin an arc and fluorescent lamps), an electrical filament, or Solid-StateLighting (SSL), where semiconductors are used. An SSL may be aLight-Emitting Diode (LED), an Organic LED (OLED), or Polymer LED(PLED). Further, an SSL may be a laser diode, which is a laser whoseactive medium is a semiconductor, commonly based on a diode formed froma p-n junction and powered by the injected electric current.

A light source may consist of, or comprise, a lamp, which is typicallyreplaceable and is commonly radiating a visible light. A lamp, sometimesreferred to as ‘bulb’, may be an arc lamp, a Fluorescent lamp, agas-discharge lamp, or an incandescent light. An arc lamp (a.k.a. arclight) is the general term for a class of lamps that produce light by anelectric arc (also called a voltaic arc). Such a lamp consists of twoelectrodes, first made from carbon but typically made today of tungsten,which are separated by a gas. The type of lamp is often named by the gascontained in the bulb; including Neon, Argon, Xenon, Krypton, Sodium,metal Halide, and Mercury, or by the type of electrode as in carbon-arclamps. The common fluorescent lamp may be regarded as a low-pressuremercury arc lamp.

Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources thatgenerate light by sending an electrical discharge through an ionized gas(plasma). Typically, such lamps use a noble gas (argon, neon, kryptonand xenon) or a mixture of these gases and most lamps are filled withadditional materials, like mercury, sodium, and metal halides. Inoperation the gas is ionized, and free electrons, accelerated by theelectrical field in the tube, collide with gas and metal atoms. Someelectrons in the atomic orbitals of these atoms are excited by thesecollisions to a higher energy state. When the excited atom falls back toa lower energy state, it emits a photon of a characteristic energy,resulting in infrared, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation. Somelamps convert the ultraviolet radiation to visible light with afluorescent coating on the inside of the lamp's glass surface. Thefluorescent lamp is perhaps the best known gas-discharge lamp.

A fluorescent lamp (a.k.a. fluorescent tube) is a gas-discharge lampthat uses electricity to excite mercury vapor, and is commonlyconstructed as a tube coated with phosphor containing low pressuremercury vapor that produces white light. The excited mercury atomsproduce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor tofluoresce, producing visible light. A fluorescent lamp convertselectrical power into useful light more efficiently than an incandescentlamp. Lower energy cost typically offsets the higher initial cost of thelamp. A neon lamp (a.k.a. Neon glow lamp) is a gas discharge lamp thattypically contains neon gas at a low pressure in a glass capsule. Only athin region adjacent to the electrodes glows in these lamps, whichdistinguishes them from the much longer and brighter neon tubes used forpublic signage.

An incandescent light bulb (a.k.a. incandescent lamp or incandescentlight globe) produces light by heating a filament wire to a hightemperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from oxidationin the air commonly with a glass enclosure that is filled with inert gasor evacuated. In a halogen lamp, filament evaporation is prevented by achemical process that redeposits metal vapor onto the filament,extending its life. The light bulb is supplied with electrical currentby feed-through terminals or wires embedded in the glass. Most bulbs areused in a socket which provides mechanical support and electricalconnections. A halogen lamp (a.k.a. Tungsten halogen lamp or quartziodine lamp) is an incandescent lamp that has a small amount of ahalogen such as iodine or bromine added. The combination of the halogengas and the tungsten filament produces a halogen cycle chemical reactionwhich redeposits evaporated tungsten back to the filament, increasingits life and maintaining the clarity of the envelope. Because of this, ahalogen lamp can be operated at a higher temperature than a standardgas-filled lamp of similar power and operating life, producing light ofa higher luminous efficacy and color temperature. The small size ofhalogen lamps permits their use in compact optical systems forprojectors and illumination.

A Light-Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source, based onthe principle that when a diode is forward-biased (switched on),electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device,releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is calledelectroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to theenergy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of thesemiconductor. Conventional LEDs are made from a variety of inorganicsemiconductor materials, such as Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs),Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide(AlGaInP), Gallium (III) phosphide (GaP), Zinc selenide (ZnSe), Indiumgallium nitride (InGaN), and Silicon carbide (SiC) as substrate.

In an Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) the electroluminescentmaterial comprising the emissive layer of the diode, is an organiccompound. The organic material is electrically conductive due to thedelocalization of pi electrons caused by conjugation over all or part ofthe molecule, and the material therefore functions as an organicsemiconductor. The organic materials can be small organic molecules in acrystalline phase, or polymers.

High-power LEDs (HPLED) can be driven at currents from hundreds of mAsto more than an amper, compared with the tens of mAs for other LEDs.Some can emit over a thousand Lumens. Since overheating is destructive,the HPLEDs are commonly mounted on a heat sink to allow for heatdissipation.

LEDs are efficient, and emit more light per watt than incandescent lightbulbs. They can emit light of an intended color without using any colorfilters as traditional lighting methods need. LEDs can be very small(smaller than 2 mm²) and are easily populated onto printed circuitboards. LEDs light up very quickly. A typical red indicator LED willachieve full brightness in under a microsecond. LEDs are ideal for usessubject to frequent on-off cycling, unlike fluorescent lamps that failfaster when cycled often, or HID lamps that require a long time beforerestarting and can very easily be dimmed either by pulse-widthmodulation or lowering the forward current. Further, in contrast to mostlight sources, LEDs radiate very little heat in the form of IR that cancause damage to sensitive objects or fabrics, and typically have arelatively long useful life.

An actuator may be a thermoelectric actuator such as a cooler or aheater for changing the temperature of an object, that may be solid,liquid or gas (such as the air temperature), using conduction,convection, thermal radiation, or by the transfer of energy by phasechanges. Radiative heaters contain a heating element that reaches a hightemperature. The element is usually packaged inside a glass enveloperesembling a light bulb and with a reflector to direct the energy outputaway from the body of the heater. The element emits infrared radiationthat travels through air or space until it hits an absorbing surface,where it is partially converted to heat and partially reflected. In aconvection heater, the heating element heats the air next to it byconvection. Hot air is less dense than cool air, so it rises due tobuoyancy, allowing more cool air to flow in to take its place. This setsup a constant current of hot air that leaves the appliance through ventholes and heats up the surrounding space. These are generally filledwith oil, in an oil heater, due to oil functioning as an effective heatreservoir. They are ideally suited for heating a closed space. Theyoperate silently and have a lower risk of ignition hazard in the eventthat they make unintended contact with furnishings compared to radiantelectric heaters. This is a good choice for long periods of time or ifleft unattended. A fan heater, also called a forced convection heater,is a variety of convection heater that includes an electric fan to speedup the airflow. This reduces the thermal resistance between the heatingelement and the surroundings faster than passive convection, allowingheat to be transferred more quickly.

A thermoelectric actuator may be a heat pump, which is a machine ordevice that transfers thermal energy from one location, called the“source,” which is at a lower temperature, to another location calledthe “sink” or “heat sink”, which is at a higher temperature. Heat pumpsmay be used for cooling or for heating. Thus, heat pumps move thermalenergy opposite to the direction that it normally flows, and may beelectrically driven such as compressor-driven air conditioners andfreezers. A heat pump may use an electric motor to drive a refrigerationcycle, drawing energy from a source such as the ground or outside airand directing it into the space to be warmed. Some systems can bereversed so that the interior space is cooled and the warm air isdischarged outside or into the ground.

A thermoelectric actuator may be an electric heater, convertingelectrical energy into heat, such as for space heating, cooking, waterheating, and industrial processes. Commonly, the heating element insideevery electric heater is simply an electrical resistor, and works on theprinciple of Joule heating: an electric current through a resistorconverts electrical energy into heat energy. In a dielectric heater,high-frequency alternating electric field, or radio wave or microwaveelectromagnetic radiation heats a dielectric material, and is based onheating caused by molecular dipole rotation within the dielectric.Microwave heaters, as distinct from RF heating, is a sub-category ofdielectric heating at frequencies above 100 MHz, where anelectromagnetic wave can be launched from a small dimension emitter andconveyed through space to the target. Modern microwave ovens make use ofelectromagnetic waves (microwaves) with electric fields of much higherfrequency and shorter wavelength than RF heaters. Typical domesticmicrowave ovens operate at 2.45 GHz, but 0.915 GHz ovens also exist,thus the wavelengths employed in microwave heating are 12 or 33 cm,providing for highly efficient, but less penetrative, dielectricheating.

A thermoelectric actuator may be a thermoelectric cooler or a heater (ora heat pump) based on the Peltier effect, where heat flux in thejunction of two different types of materials is created. When directcurrent is supplied to this solid-state active heat pump device (a.k.a.Peltier device, Peltier heat pump, solid state refrigerator, orThermoElectric Cooler—TEC), heat is moved from one side to the other,building up a difference in temperature between the two sides, and hencecan be used for either heating or cooling. A Peltier cooler can also beused as a thermoelectric generator, such that when one side of thedevice is heated to a temperature greater than the other side, adifference in voltage will build up between the two sides.

A thermoelectric actuator may be an air cooler, sometimes referred to asan air conditioner. Common air coolers, such as in refrigerators, arebased on a refrigeration cycle of a heat pump. This cycle takesadvantage of the way phase changes work, where latent heat is releasedat a constant temperature during a liquid/gas phase change, and wherevarying the pressure of a pure substance also varies itscondensation/boiling point. The most common refrigeration cycle uses anelectric motor to drive a compressor.

An electric heater may be an induction heater, producing the process ofheating an electrically conducting object (usually a metal) byelectromagnetic induction, where eddy currents (also called Foucaultcurrents) are generated within the metal and resistance leads to Jouleheating of the metal. An induction heater (for any process) consists ofan electromagnet, through which a high-frequency Alternating Current(AC) is passed. Heat may also be generated by magnetic hysteresis lossesin materials that have significant relative permeability.

An actuator may use pneumatics, involving the application of pressurizedgas to affect mechanical motion. A motion actuator may be a pneumaticactuator that converts energy (typically in the form of compressed air)into rotary or linear motion. In some arrangements, a motion actuatormay be used to provide force or torque. Similarly, force or torqueactuators may be used as motion actuators. A pneumatic actuator mainlyconsists of a piston, a cylinder, and valves or ports. The piston iscovered by a diaphragm, or seal, which keeps the air in the upperportion of the cylinder, allowing air pressure to force the diaphragmdownward, moving the piston underneath, which in turn moves the valvestem, which is linked to the internal parts of the actuator. Pneumaticactuators may only have one spot for a signal input, top or bottom,depending on the action required. Valves input pressure is the “controlsignal”, where each different pressure is a different set point for avalve. Valves typically require little pressure to operate and usuallydouble or triple the input force. The larger the size of the piston, thelarger the output pressure can be. Having a larger piston can also begood if air supply is low, allowing the same forces with less input.

An actuator may use hydraulics, involving the application of a fluid toaffect mechanical motion. Common hydraulics systems are based onPascal's famous theory, which states that the pressure of the liquidproduced in an enclosed structure has the capacity of releasing a forceup to ten times the pressure that was produced earlier. A hydraulicactuator may be a hydraulic cylinder, where pressure is applied to thefluids (oil), to get the desired force. The force acquired is used topower the hydraulic machine. These cylinders typically include thepistons of different sizes, used to push down the fluids in the othercylinder, which in turn exerts the pressure and pushes it back again. Ahydraulic actuator may be a hydraulic pump, is responsible for supplyingthe fluids to the other essential parts of the hydraulic system. Thepower generated by a hydraulic pump is about ten times more than thecapacity of an electrical motor. There are different types of hydraulicpumps such as the vane pumps, gear pumps, piston pumps, etc. Among them,the piston pumps are relatively more costly, but they have a guaranteedlong life and are even able to pump thick, difficult fluids. Further, ahydraulic actuator may be a hydraulic motor, where the power is achievedwith the help of exerting pressure on the hydraulic fluids, which isnormally oil. The benefit of using hydraulic motors is that when thepower source is mechanical, the motor develops a tendency to rotate inthe opposite direction, thus acting like a hydraulic pump.

A motion actuator may further be a vacuum actuator, producing a motionbased on vacuum pressure, commonly controlled by a Vacuum SwitchingValve (VSV), which controls the vacuum supply to the actuator. A motionactuator may be a rotary actuator that produces a rotary motion ortorque, commonly to a shaft or axle. The simplest rotary actuator is apurely mechanical linear actuator, where linear motion in one directionis converted to a rotation. A rotary actuator may be electricallypowered, or may be powered by pneumatic or hydraulic power, or may useenergy stored internally by springs. The motion produced by a rotarymotion actuator may be either continuous rotation, such as in commonelectric motors, or movement to a fixed angular position as for servosand stepper motors. A further form, the torque motor, does notnecessarily produce any rotation but merely generates a precise torquewhich then either cause rotation, or is balanced by some opposingtorque. Some motion actuators may be intrinsically linear, such as thoseusing linear motors. Motion actuators may include, or coupled with, awide variety of mechanical elements to change the nature of the motionsuch as provided by the actuating/transducing elements, such as levers,ramps, limit switches, screws, cams, crankshafts, gears, pulleys,wheels, constant-velocity joints, shock absorbers or dampers, orratchets.

A stepper motor (a.k.a. step motor) is a brushless DC electric motorthat divides a full rotation into a number of equal steps, commonly of afixed size. The motor position can then be commanded to move and hold onone of these steps without any feedback sensor (an open-loopcontroller), or may be combined with either a position encoder or atleast a single datum sensor at the zero position. The stepper motor maybe a switched reluctance motor, which is a very large stepping motorwith a reduced pole count, and generally is closed-loop commutated. Astepper motor may be a permanent magnet stepper type, using a PermanentMagnet (PM) in the rotor and operate on the attraction or repulsionbetween the rotor PM and the stator electromagnets. Further, a steppermotor may be a variable reluctance stepper using a Variable Reluctance(VR) motor that has a plain iron rotor and operate based on theprinciple that minimum reluctance occurs with minimum gap, hence therotor points are attracted toward the stator magnet poles. Further, astepper motor may be a hybrid synchronous stepper, where a combinationof the PM and VR techniques are used to achieve maximum power in a smallpackage size. Furthermore, a stepper motor may be a Lavet type steppingmotor using a single-phase stepping motor, where the rotor is apermanent magnet and the motor is built with a strong magnet and largestator to deliver high torque.

A rotary actuator may be a servomotor (a.k.a. servo), which is apackaged combination of a motor (usually electric, although fluid powermotors may also be used), a gear train to reduce the many rotations ofthe motor to a higher torque rotation, and a position encoder thatidentifies the position of the output shaft and an inbuilt controlsystem. The input control signal to the servo indicates the desiredoutput position. Any difference between the position commanded and theposition of the encoder gives rise to an error signal that causes themotor and geartrain to rotate until the encoder reflects a positionmatching that commanded. Further, a rotary actuator may be a memory wiretype, which uses applying current such that the wire is heated above itstransition temperature and so changes shape, applying a torque to theoutput shaft. When power is removed, the wire cools and returns to itsearlier shape.

A rotary actuator may be a fluid power actuator, where hydraulic orpneumatic power may be used to drive a shaft or an axle. Such fluidpower actuators may be based on driving a linear piston, to where acylinder mechanism is geared to produce rotation, or may be based on arotating asymmetrical vane that swings through a cylinder of twodifferent radii. The differential pressure between the two sides of thevane gives rise to an unbalanced force and thus a torque on the outputshaft. Such vane actuators require a number of sliding seals and thejoins between these seals have tended to cause more problems withleakage than for the piston and cylinder type.

Alternatively or in addition, a motion actuator may be a linear actuatorthat creates motion in a straight line. Such linear actuator may usehydraulic or pneumatic cylinders which inherently produce linear motion,or may provide a linear motion by converting from a rotary motioncreated by a rotary actuator, such as electric motors. Rotary-basedlinear actuators may be a screw, a wheel and axle, or a cam type. Ascrew actuator operates on the screw machine principle, whereby rotatingthe actuator nut, the screw shaft moves in a line, such as a lead-screw,a screw jack, a ball screw or roller screw. A wheel-and-axle actuatoroperates on the principle of the wheel and axle, where a rotating wheelmoves a cable, rack, chain or belt to produce linear motion. Examplesare hoist, winch, rack and pinion, chain drive, belt drive, rigid chain,and rigid belt actuators. Cam actuator includes a wheel-like cam, whichupon rotation, provides thrust at the base of a shaft due to itseccentric shape. Mechanical linear actuators may only pull, such ashoists, chain drive and belt drives, while others only push (such as acam actuator). Some pneumatic and hydraulic cylinder based actuators mayprovide force in both directions.

A linear hydraulic actuator (a.k.a. hydraulic cylinder) commonlyinvolves a hollow cylinder having a piston inserted in it. An unbalancedpressure applied to the piston provides a force that can move anexternal object, and since liquids are nearly incompressible, ahydraulic cylinder can provide controlled precise linear displacement ofthe piston. The displacement is only along the axis of the piston.Pneumatic actuators, or pneumatic cylinders, are similar to hydraulicactuators except they use compressed gas to provide pressure instead ofa liquid. A linear pneumatic actuator (a.k.a. pneumatic cylinder) issimilar to hydraulic actuator, except that it uses compressed gas toprovide pressure instead of a liquid.

A linear actuator may be a piezoelectric actuator, based on thepiezoelectric effect in which application of a voltage to thepiezoelectric material causes it to expand. Very high voltagescorrespond to only tiny expansions. As a result, piezoelectric actuatorscan achieve extremely fine positioning resolution, but also have a veryshort range of motion.

A linear actuator may be a linear electrical motor. Such a motor may bebased on a conventional rotary electrical motor, connected to rotate alead screw, that has a continuous helical thread machined on itscircumference running along the length (similar to the thread on abolt). Threaded onto the lead screw is a lead nut or ball nut withcorresponding helical threads, used for preventing from rotating withthe lead screw (typically the nut interlocks with a non-rotating part ofthe actuator body). The electrical motor may be a DC brush, a DCbrushless, a stepper, or an induction motor type.

Telescoping linear actuators are specialized linear actuators used wherespace restrictions or other requirements require, where their range ofmotion is many times greater than the unextended length of the actuatingmember. A common form is made of concentric tubes of approximately equallength that extend and retract like sleeves, one inside the other, suchas the telescopic cylinder. Other more specialized telescoping actuatorsuse actuating members that act as rigid linear shafts when extended, butbreak that line by folding, separating into pieces and/or uncoiling whenrefracted. Examples of telescoping linear actuators include a helicalband actuator, a rigid belt actuator, a rigid chain actuator, and asegmented spindle.

A linear actuator may be a linear electric motor, that has had itsstator and rotor “unrolled” so that instead of producing a torque(rotation) it produces a linear force along its length. The most commonmode of operation is as a Lorentz-type actuator, in which the appliedforce is linearly proportional to the current and the magnetic field. Alinear electric motor may be a Linear Induction Motor (LIM), which is anAC (commonly 3-phase) asynchronous linear motor that works with the samegeneral principles as other induction motors but which has been designedto directly produce motion in a straight line. In such motor type, theforce is produced by a moving linear magnetic field acting on conductorsin the field, such that any conductor, be it a loop, a coil or simply apiece of plate metal, that is placed in this field, will have eddycurrents induced in it thus creating an opposing magnetic field, inaccordance with Lenz's law. The two opposing fields will repel eachother, thus creating motion as the magnetic field sweeps through themetal. The primary of a linear electric motor typically consists of aflat magnetic core (generally laminated) with transverse slots which areoften straight cut with coils laid into the slots, while the secondaryis frequently a sheet of aluminum, often with an iron backing plate.Some LIMs are double sided, with one primary either side of thesecondary, and in this case no iron backing is needed. A LIM may bebased on a synchronous motor, where the rate of movement of the magneticfield is controlled, usually electronically, to track the motion of therotor. A linear electric motor may be a Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM),in which the rate of movement of the magnetic field is controlled,usually electronically, to track the motion of the rotor. Synchronouslinear motors may use commutators, or preferably the rotor may containpermanent magnets, or soft iron.

A motion actuator may be a piezoelectric motor (a.k.a. piezo motor),which is based upon the change in shape of a piezoelectric material whenan electric field is applied. Piezoelectric motors make use of theconverse piezoelectric effect whereby the material produces acoustic orultrasonic vibrations in order to produce a linear or rotary motion. Inone mechanism, the elongation in a single plane is used to make a seriesstretches and position holds, similar to the way a caterpillar moves.Piezoelectric motors may be made in both linear and rotary types.

One drive technique is to use piezoelectric ceramics to push a stator.Commonly known as Inchworm or PiezoWalk motors, these piezoelectricmotors use three groups of crystals: two of which are Locking and oneMotive, permanently connected to either the motor's casing or stator(not both) and sandwiched between the other two, which provides themotion. These piezoelectric motors are fundamentally stepping motors,with each step comprising either two or three actions, based on thelocking type. Another mechanism employs the use of Surface AcousticWaves (SAW) to generate linear or rotary motion. An alternative drivetechnique is known as Squiggle motor, in which piezoelectric elementsare bonded orthogonally to a nut and their ultrasonic vibrations rotateand translate a central lead screw, providing a direct drive mechanism.The piezoelectric motor may be according to, or based on, the motordescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,842 to Maropis, entitled: “Method andApparatus for Delivering Vibratory Energy”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,073to Vishnevsky et al., entitled: “Piezoelectric Motor Structures”, or inU.S. Pat. No. 4,210,837 to Vasiliev et al., entitled: “PiezoelectricallyDriven Torsional Vibration Motor”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A linear actuator may be a comb-drive capacitive actuator utilizingelectrostatic forces that act between two electrically conductive combs.The attractive electrostatic forces are created when a voltage isapplied between the static and moving combs causing them to be drawntogether. The force developed by the actuator is proportional to thechange in capacitance between the two combs, increasing with drivingvoltage, the number of comb teeth, and the gap between the teeth. Thecombs are arranged so that they never touch (because then there would beno voltage difference). Typically the teeth are arranged so that theycan slide past one another until each tooth occupies the slot in theopposite comb. Comb drive actuators typically operate at the micro- ornanometer scale and are generally manufactured by bulk micromachining orsurface micromachining a silicon wafer substrate.

An electric motor may be an ultrasonic motor, which is powered by theultrasonic vibration of a component, the stator, placed against anothercomponent, the rotor or slider depending on the scheme of operation(rotation or linear translation). Ultrasonic motors and piezoelectricactuators typically use some form of piezoelectric material, most oftenlead zirconate titanate and occasionally lithium niobate or othersingle-crystal materials. In ultrasonic motors, resonance is commonlyused in order to amplify the vibration of the stator in contact with therotor.

A motion actuator may consist of, or based on, Electroactive Polymers(EAPs), which are polymers that exhibit a change in size or shape whenstimulated by an electric field, and may use as actuators and sensors. Atypical characteristic property of an EAP is that they will undergo alarge amount of deformation while sustaining large forces. EAPs aregenerally divided into two principal classes: Dielectric and Ionic.Dielectric EAPs, are materials in which actuation is caused byelectrostatic forces between two electrodes which squeeze the polymer.Dielectric elastomers are capable of very high strains and arefundamentally a capacitor that changes its capacitance when a voltage isapplied, by allowing the polymer to compress in thickness and expand inthe area due to the electric field. This type of EAP typically requiresa large actuation voltage to produce high electric fields (hundreds tothousands of volts), but very low electrical power consumption.Dielectric EAPs require no power to keep the actuator at a givenposition. Examples are electrostrictive polymers and dielectricelastomers. In Ionic EAPs actuation is caused by the displacement ofions inside the polymer. Only a few volts are needed for actuation, butthe ionic flow implies a higher electrical power needed for actuation,and energy is needed to keep the actuator at a given position. Examplesof ionic EAPS are conductive polymers, ionic polymer-metal composites(IPMCs), and responsive gels.

A linear motion actuator may be a wax motor, typically providing smoothand gentle motion. Such a motor a heater that when energized, heats ablock of wax causing it to expand and to drive a plunger outwards. Whenthe electric current is removed, the wax block cools and contracts,causing the plunger to withdraw, usually by spring force appliedexternally or by a spring incorporated directly into the wax motor.

A motion actuator may be a thermal bimorph, which is a cantilever thatconsists of two active layers: piezoelectric and metal. These layersproduce a displacement via thermal activation where a temperature changecauses one layer to expand more than the other. A piezoelectric unimorphis a cantilever that consists of one active layer and one inactivelayer. In the case where active layer is piezoelectric, deformation inthat layer may be induced by the application of an electric field. Thisdeformation induces a bending displacement in the cantilever. Theinactive layer may be fabricated from a non-piezoelectric material.

An electric motor may be an electrostatic motor (a.k.a. capacitor motor)which is based on the attraction and repulsion of electric charge.Often, electrostatic motors are the dual of conventional coil-basedmotors. They typically require a high voltage power supply, althoughvery small motors employ lower voltages. The electrostatic motor may beused in micro-mechanical (MEMS) systems where their drive voltages arebelow 100 volts, and where moving charged plates are far easier tofabricate than coils and iron cores. An alternative type ofelectrostatic motor is the spacecraft electrostatic ion drive thrusterwhere forces and motion are created by electrostatically acceleratingions. The electrostatic motor may be according to, or based on, themotor described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,433,981 to Bollee, entitled:“Electrostatic Motor”, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,436,630 to Bollee, entitled:“Electrostatic Motor”, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,968 to Robert et al.entitled: “Electrostatic Motor”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,654 to Konnoet al., entitled: “Electrostatic actuator”, which are all incorporatedin their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

An electric motor may be an AC motor, which is driven by an AlternatingCurrent (AC). Such a motor commonly consists of two basic parts, anoutside stationary stator having coils supplied with alternating currentto produce a rotating magnetic field, and an inside rotor attached tothe output shaft that is given a torque by the rotating field. An ACmotor may be an induction motor, which runs slightly slower than thesupply frequency, where the magnetic field on the rotor of this motor iscreated by an induced current. Alternatively, an AC motor may be asynchronous motor, which does not rely on induction and as a result, canrotate exactly at the supply frequency or a sub-multiple of the supplyfrequency. The magnetic field on the rotor is either generated bycurrent delivered through slip rings or by a permanent magnet. Othertypes of AC motors include eddy current motors, and also AC/DCmechanically commutated machines in which speed is dependent on voltageand winding connection.

An AC motor may be a two-phase AC servo motor, typically having asquirrel cage rotor and a field consisting of two windings: aconstant-voltage (AC) main winding and a control-voltage (AC) winding inquadrature (i.e., 90 degrees phase shifted) with the main winding, so asto produce a rotating magnetic field. Reversing phase makes the motorreverse. The control winding is commonly controlled and fed from an ACservo amplifier and a linear power amplifier.

An AC motor may be a single-phase AC induction motor; where the rotatingmagnetic field must be produced using other means, such as shaded-polemotor, commonly including a small single-turn copper “shading coil”creates the moving magnetic field. Part of each pole is encircled by acopper coil or strap; the induced current in the strap opposes thechange of flux through the coil. Another type is a split-phase motor,having a startup winding separate from the main winding. When the motoris started, the startup winding is connected to the power source via acentrifugal switch, which is closed at low speed. Another type is acapacitor start motor, including a split-phase induction motor with astarting capacitor inserted in series with the startup winding, creatingan LC circuit which is capable of a much greater phase shift (and so, amuch greater starting torque). The capacitor naturally adds expense tosuch motors. Similarly, a resistance-start motor is a split-phaseinduction motor with a starter inserted in series with the startupwinding, creating a reactance. This added starter provides assistance inthe starting and the initial direction of rotation. Another variation isthe Permanent-Split Capacitor (PSC) motor (also known as a capacitorstart and run motor), which operates similarly to the capacitor-startmotor described above, but there is no centrifugal starting switch, andwhat correspond to the start windings (second windings) are permanentlyconnected to the power source (through a capacitor), along with the runwindings. PSC motors are frequently used in air handlers, blowers, andfans (including ceiling fans) and other cases where a variable speed isdesired.

An AC motor may be a three-phase AC synchronous motor, where theconnections to the rotor coils of a three-phase motor are taken out onslip-rings and fed a separate field current to create a continuousmagnetic field (or if the rotor consists of a permanent magnet), theresult is called a synchronous motor because the rotor will rotatesynchronously with the rotating magnetic field produced by the polyphaseelectrical supply.

An electric motor may be a DC motor, which is driven by a Direct Current(DC), and is, similarly based on a torque that is produced by theprinciple of Lorentz force. Such a motor may be a brushed, a brushless,or an uncommutated type. A brushed DC electric motor generates torquedirectly from DC power supplied to the motor by using internalcommutation, stationary magnets (permanent or electromagnets), androtating electrical magnets. Brushless DC motors use a rotatingpermanent magnet or soft magnetic core in the rotor, and stationaryelectrical magnets on the motor housing, and use a motor controller thatconverts DC to AC. Other types of DC motors require no commutation, suchas a homopolar motor that has a magnetic field along the axis ofrotation and an electric current that at some point is not parallel tothe magnetic field, and a ball bearing motor that consists of two ballbearing-type bearings, with the inner races mounted on a commonconductive shaft, and the outer races connected to a high current, lowvoltage power supply. An alternative construction fits the outer racesinside a metal tube, while the inner races are mounted on a shaft with anon-conductive section (e.g., two sleeves on an insulating rod). Thismethod has the advantage that the tube will act as a flywheel. Thedirection of rotation is determined by the initial spin which is usuallyrequired to get it going.

An actuator may be a pump, typically used to move (or compress) fluidsor liquids, gasses, or slurries, commonly by pressure or suctionactions. Pumps commonly consume energy to perform mechanical work bymoving the fluid or the gas, where the activating mechanism is oftenreciprocating or rotary. Pumps may be operated in many ways, includingmanual operation, electricity, a combustion engine of some type, andwind action. An air pump moves air either into, or out of, something,and a sump pump used for the removal of liquid from a sump or sump pit.A fuel pump is commonly used to move transport the fuel through a pipe,and a vacuum pump is a device that removes gas molecules from a sealedvolume in order to leave behind a partial vacuum. A gas compressor is amechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing itsvolume. A pump may be a valveless pump, where no valves are present toregulate the flow direction, and are commonly used in biomedical andengineering systems. Pumps can be classified into many major groups, forexample according to their energy source or according to the method theyuse to move the fluid, such as direct lift, impulse, displacement,velocity, centrifugal, and gravity pumps.

A positive displacement pump causes a fluid to move by trapping a fixedamount of it and then forcing (displacing) that trapped volume into thedischarge pipe. Some positive displacement pumps work using an expandingcavity on the suction side and a decreasing cavity on the dischargeside. The liquid flows into the pump as the cavity on the suction sideexpands, and the liquid flows out of the discharge as the cavitycollapses. The volume is constant given each cycle of operation. Apositive displacement pump can be further classified according to themechanism used to move the fluid: A rotary-type positive displacementtype such as internal gear, screw, shuttle block, flexible vane orsliding vane, circumferential piston, helical twisted roots (e.g.,Wendelkolben pump) or liquid ring vacuum pumps, a reciprocating-typepositive displacement type, such as a piston or diaphragm pumps, and alinear-type positive displacement type, such as rope pumps and chainpumps. The positive displacement principle applies also to a rotary lobepump, a progressive cavity pump, a rotary gear pump, a piston pump, adiaphragm pump, a screw pump, a gear pump, a hydraulic pump, and a vanepump.

A rotary positive displacement pumps can be grouped into three maintypes: Gear pumps where the liquid is pushed between two gears, Screwpumps where the shape of the pump internals usually two screws turningagainst each other pump the liquid, and Rotary vane pumps, which aresimilar to scroll compressors, and are consisting of a cylindrical rotorenclosed in a similarly shaped housing. As the rotor turns, the vanestrap fluid between the rotor and the casing, drawing the fluid throughthe pump.

Reciprocating positive displacement pumps cause the fluid to move usingone or more oscillating pistons, plungers or membranes (diaphragms).Typical reciprocating pumps include plunger pumps type, which are basedon a reciprocating plunger that pushes the fluid through one or two openvalves, closed by suction on the way back, diaphragm pumps type whichare similar to plunger pumps, where the plunger pressurizes hydraulicoil which is used to flex a diaphragm in the pumping cylinder, diaphragmvalves type that are used to pump hazardous and toxic fluids, pistondisplacement pumps type that are usually simple devices for pumpingsmall amounts of liquid or gel manually, and radial piston pumps type.

A pump may be an impulse pump which uses pressure created by gas(usually air). In some impulse pumps the gas trapped in the liquid(usually water), is released and accumulated somewhere in the pump,creating a pressure which can push part of the liquid upwards. Impulsepump types include: a hydraulic ram pump type, which use a pressurebuilt up internally from a released gas in a liquid flow; a pulser pumptype which runs with natural resources by kinetic energy only; and anairlift pump type which runs on air inserted into a pipe, pushing up thewater, when bubbles move upward, or on a pressure inside the pipepushing the water up.

A velocity pump may be a rotodynamic pump (a.k.a. dynamic pump) which isa type of velocity pump in which kinetic energy is added to the fluid byincreasing the flow velocity. This increase in energy is converted to again in potential energy (pressure) when the velocity is reduced priorto or as the flow exits the pump into the discharge pipe. Thisconversion of kinetic energy to pressure is based on the First law ofthermodynamics or more specifically by Bernoulli's principle.

A pump may be a centrifugal pump which is a rotodynamic pump that uses arotating impeller to increase the pressure and flow rate of a fluid.Centrifugal pumps are the most common type of pump used to move liquidsthrough a piping system. The fluid enters the pump impeller along ornear to the rotating axis and is accelerated by the impeller, flowingradially outward or axially into a diffuser or volute chamber, fromwhere it exits into the downstream piping system. A centrifugal pump maybe a radial flow pump type, where the fluid exits at right angles to theshaft, an axial flow pump type where the fluid enters and exits alongthe same direction parallel to the rotating shaft, or may be a mixedflow pump, where the fluid experiences both radial acceleration and liftand exits the impeller somewhere between 0-90 degrees from the axialdirection.

An actuator may be an electrochemical or chemical actuator, used toproduce, change, or otherwise affect a matter structure, properties,composition, process, or reactions. An electrochemical actuator mayaffect or generate a chemical reaction or an oxidation/reduction (redox)reaction, such as an electrolysis process.

An actuator may be an electroacoustic actuator, such as a sounder whichconverts electrical energy to sound waves transmitted through the air,an elastic solid material, or a liquid, usually by means of a vibratingor moving ribbon or diaphragm. The sound may be audio or audible, havingfrequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable ofbeing detected by human organs of hearing. Alternatively or in addition,the sounder may be used to emit inaudible frequencies, such asultrasonic (a.k.a. ultrasound) acoustic frequencies that are above therange audible to the human ear, or above approximately 20,000 Hz. Asounder may be omnidirectional, unidirectional, bidirectional, orprovide other directionality or polar patterns.

A loudspeaker (a.k.a. speaker) is a sounder that produces sound inresponse to an electrical audio signal input, typically audible sound.The most common form of loudspeaker is the electromagnetic (or dynamic)type, uses a paper cone supporting a moving voice coil electromagnetacting on a permanent magnet. Where accurate reproduction of sound isrequired, multiple loudspeakers may be used, each reproducing a part ofthe audible frequency range. A loudspeaker is commonly optimized formiddle frequencies; tweeters for high frequencies; and sometimessupertweeter is used which is optimized for the highest audiblefrequencies.

A loudspeaker may be a piezo (or piezoelectric) speaker contains apiezoelectric crystal coupled to a mechanical diaphragm and is based onthe piezoelectric effect. An audio signal is applied to the crystal,which responds by flexing in proportion to the voltage applied acrossthe crystal surfaces, thus converting electrical energy into mechanical.Piezoelectric speakers are frequently used as beepers in watches andother electronic devices, and are sometimes used as tweeters inless-expensive speaker systems, such as computer speakers and portableradios. A loudspeaker may be a magnetostrictive transducers, based onmagnetostriction, have been predominantly used as sonar ultrasonic soundwave radiators, but their usage has spread also to audio speakersystems.

A loudspeaker may be an electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL), in which soundis generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in anelectrostatic field. Such speakers use a thin flat diaphragm usuallyconsisting of a plastic sheet coated with a conductive material such asgraphite sandwiched between two electrically conductive grids, with asmall air gap between the diaphragm and grids. The diaphragm is usuallymade from a polyester film (thickness 2-20 μm) with exceptionalmechanical properties, such as PET film. By means of the conductivecoating and an external high voltage supply the diaphragm is held at aDC potential of several kilovolts with respect to the grids. The gridsare driven by the audio signal; and the front and rear grids are drivenin antiphase. As a result a uniform electrostatic field proportional tothe audio signal is produced between both grids. This causes a force tobe exerted on the charged diaphragm, and its resulting movement drivesthe air on either side of it.

A loudspeaker may be a magnetic loudspeaker, and may be a ribbon orplanar type, is based on a magnetic field. A ribbon speaker consists ofa thin metal-film ribbon suspended in a magnetic field. The electricalsignal is applied to the ribbon, which moves with it to create thesound. Planar magnetic speakers are speakers with roughly rectangularflat surfaces that radiate in a bipolar (i.e., front and back) manner,and may be having printed or embedded conductors on a flat diaphragm.Planar magnetic speakers consist of a flexible membrane with a voicecoil printed or mounted on it. The current flowing through the coilinteracts with the magnetic field of carefully placed magnets on eitherside of the diaphragm, causing the membrane to vibrate more uniformlyand without much bending or wrinkling A loudspeaker may be a bendingwave loudspeaker, which uses a diaphragm that is intentionally flexible.

A sounder may an electromechanical type, such as an electric bell, whichmay be based on an electromagnet, causing a metal ball to clap on cup orhalf-sphere bell. A sounder may be a buzzer (or beeper), a chime, awhistle or a ringer. Buzzers may be either electromechanical orceramic-based piezoelectric sounders which make a high-pitch noise, andmay be used for alerting. The sounder may emit a single or multipletones, and can be in continuous or intermittent operation.

In one example, the sounder is used to play a stored digital audio. Thedigital audio content can be stored in the sounder, the actuator unit,the router, the control server, or any combination thereof. Further, fewfiles may be stored (e.g., representing different announcements orsongs), selected by the control logic. Alternatively or in addition, thedigital audio data may be received by the sounder, the actuator unit,the router, the control server, or any combination thereof, fromexternal sources via the above networks. Furthermore, the source of thedigital audio may a microphone serving as a sensor, either afterprocessing, storing, delaying, or any other manipulation, or asoriginally received resulting ‘doorphone’ or ‘intercom’ functionalitybetween a microphone and a sounder in the building.

In another example, the sounder simulates the voice of a human being orgenerates music, typically by using an electronic circuit having amemory for storing the sounds (e.g., music, song, voice message, etc.),a digital to analog converter 62 to reconstruct the electricalrepresentation of the sound, and a driver for driving a loudspeaker,which is an electro-acoustic transducer that converts an electricalsignal to sound. An example of a greeting card providing music andmechanical movement is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No.2007/0256337 to Segan entitled: “User Interactive Greeting Card”, whichis incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

In one example, the system is used for sound or music generation. Forexample, the sound produced can emulate the sounds of a conventionalacoustical music instrument, such as a piano, tuba, harp, violin, flute,guitar and so forth. In one example, the sounder is an audible signalingdevice, emitting audible sounds that can be heard (having frequencycomponents in the 20-20,000 Hz band). In one example the sound generatedis music or song. The elements of the music such as pitch (which governsmelody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter,and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre andtexture, may be associated with the shape theme. For example, if amusical instrument shown in the picture, the music generated by thatinstrument will be played, e.g., drumming sound of drums and playing ofa flute or guitar. In one example, a talking human voice is played bythe sounder. The sound may be a syllable, a word, a phrase, a sentence,a short story or a long story, and can be based on speech synthesis orpre-recorded. Male or female voice can be used, further being young orold.

Some examples of toys that include generation of an audio signal such asmusic are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,149 to Schwartzberg entitled:“Game Apparatus Utilizing Controllable Audio Signals”, in U.S. Pat. No.4,516,260 to Breedlove et al. entitled: “Electronic Learning Aid or Gamehaving Synthesized Speech”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,414,186 to Scarpa et al.entitled: “System and Method for Teaching Musical Notes”, in U.S. Pat.No. 4,968,255 to Lee et al., entitled: “Electronic InstructionalApparatus”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,123 to Bunger et al., entitled:“Electronic Piano” and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,891 to Milner entitled:“Musical Puzzle Using Sliding Tiles”, and toys with means forsynthesizing human voice are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,611 toCummings entitled: “Place and Find Toy”, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,602to Rose entitled: “Talking Doll Responsive to External Signal”, whichare all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein. A music toy kit combining music toy instrument with a setof construction toy blocks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,281 toKlitsner et al. entitled: “Music Toy Kit” and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,129to Wisniewski et al. entitled: “Electronic Sound Generating Toy”, whichare incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

A speech synthesizer used to produce natural and intelligible artificialhuman speech may be implemented in hardware, in software, or combinationthereof. A speech synthesizer may be Text-To-Speech (TTS) based, thatconverts normal language text to speech, or alternatively (or inaddition) may be based on rendering symbolic linguistic representationlike phonetic transcription. A TTS typically involves two steps, thefront-end where the raw input text is pre-processed to fully write-outwords replacing numbers and abbreviations, followed by assigningphonetic transcriptions to each word (text-to-phoneme), and the back-end(or synthesizer) where the symbolic linguistic representation isconverted to output sound.

The generating of synthetic speech waveform typically uses aconcatenative or formant synthesis. The concatenative synthesis commonlyproduces the most natural-sounding synthesized speech, and is based onthe concatenation (or stringing together) of segments of recordedspeech. There are three main types of concatenative synthesis: Unitselection, diphone synthesis, and domain-specific synthesis. Unitselection synthesis is based on large databases of recorded speechincluding individual phones, diphones, half-phones, syllables,morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences, indexed based on thesegmentation and acoustic parameters like the fundamental frequency(pitch), duration, position in the syllable, and neighboring phones. Atrun time, the desired target utterance is created by determining(typically using a specially weighted decision tree) the best chain ofcandidate units from the database (unit selection). Diphone synthesisuses a minimal speech database containing all the diphones(sound-to-sound transitions) occurring in a language, and at runtime,the target prosody of a sentence is superimposed on these minimal unitsby means of digital signal processing techniques such as linearpredictive coding. Domain-specific synthesis is used where the output islimited to a particular domain, using concatenates prerecorded words andphrases to create complete utterances. In formant synthesis thesynthesized speech output is created using additive synthesis and anacoustic model (physical modeling synthesis), rather than on using humanspeech samples. Parameters such as fundamental frequency, voicing, andnoise levels are varied over time to create a waveform of artificialspeech. The synthesis may further be based on articulatory synthesiswhere computational techniques for synthesizing speech are based onmodels of the human vocal tract and the articulation processes occurringthere, or may be HMM-based synthesis which is based on hidden Markovmodels, where the frequency spectrum (vocal tract), fundamentalfrequency (vocal source), and duration (prosody) of speech are modeledsimultaneously by HMMs and generated based on the maximum likelihoodcriterion. The speech synthesizer may further be based on the bookentitled: “Development in Speech Synthesis”, by Mark Tatham andKatherine Morton, published 2005 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd., ISBN:0-470-85538-X, and on the book entitled: “Speech Synthesis andRecognition” by John Holmes and Wendy Holmes, 2^(nd) Edition, published2001 ISBN: 0-7484-0856-8, which are both incorporated in their entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A speech synthesizer may be software based such as Apple VoiceOverutility which uses speech synthesis for accessibility, and is part ofthe Apple iOS operating system used on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.Similarly, Microsoft uses SAPI 4.0 and SAPI 5.0 as part of Windowsoperating system. Similarly, hardware may be used, and may be based onan IC. A tone, voice, melody, or song hardware-based sounder typicallycontains a memory storing a digital representation of the pre-recorderor synthesized voice or music, a Digital to Analog (D/A) converter forcreating an analog signal, a speaker and a driver for feeding thespeaker. A sounder may be based on Holtek HT3834 CMOS VLSI IntegratedCircuit (IC) named ‘36 Melody Music Generator’ available from HoltekSemiconductor Inc., headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and described withapplication circuits in a data sheet Rev. 1.00 dated Nov. 2, 2006, onEPSON 7910 series ‘Multi-Melody IC’ available from Seiko-EpsonCorporation, Electronic Devices Marketing Division located in Tokyo,Japan, and described with application circuits in a data sheet PF226-04dated 1998, on Magnevation SpeakJet chip available from Magnevation LLCand described in ‘Natural Speech & Complex Sound Synthesizer’, describedin User's Manual Revision 1.0 Jul. 27, 2004, on Sensory Inc. NLP-5xdescribed in the Data sheet “Natural Language Processor with Motor,Sensor and Display Control”, P/N 80-0317-K, published 2010 by Sensory,Inc. of Santa-Clara, Calif., U.S.A., or on OPTi 82C931 ‘Plug and PlayIntegrated Audio Controller’ described in Data Book 912-3000-035Revision: 2.1 published on Aug. 1, 1997, which are all incorporatedherein in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.Similarly, a music synthesizer may be based on YMF721 OPL4-ML2FM+Wavetable Synthesizer LSI available from Yamaha Corporation describedin YMF721 Catalog No. LSI-4MF721A20, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

An actuator may be used to generate an electric or magnetic field. Anelectromagnetic coil (sometimes referred to simply as a “coil”) isformed when a conductor (usually an insulated solid copper wire) iswound around a core or form to create an inductor or electromagnet. Oneloop of wire is usually referred to as a turn, and a coil consists ofone or more turns. Coils are often coated with varnish or wrapped withinsulating tape to provide additional insulation and secure them inplace. A completed coil assembly with taps is often called a winding. Anelectromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field isproduced by the flow of electric current, and disappears when thecurrent is turned off. A simple electromagnet consisting of a coil ofinsulated wire wrapped around an iron core. The strength of the magneticfield generated is proportional to the amount of current.

An actuator may be a display for presentation of visual data orinformation, commonly on a screen. A display is typically consists of anarray of light emitters (typically in a matrix form), and commonlyprovides a visual depiction of a single, integrated, or organized set ofinformation, such as text, graphics, image or video. A display may be amonochrome (a.k.a. black-and-white) type, which typically displays twocolors, one for the background and one for the foreground. Old computermonitor displays commonly use black and white, green and black, or amberand black. A display may be a gray-scale type, which is capable ofdisplaying different shades of gray, or may be a color type, capable ofdisplaying multiple colors, anywhere from 16 to over many millionsdifferent colors, and may be based on Red, Green, and Blue (RGB)separate signals. A video display is designed for presenting videocontent. The screen is the actual location where the information isactually optically visualized by humans. The screen may be an integralpart of the display. Alternatively or in addition, the display may be animage or video projector, that projects an image (or a video consistingof moving images) onto a screen surface, which is a separate componentand is not mechanically enclosed with the display housing. Mostprojectors create an image by shining a light through a smalltransparent image, but some newer types of projectors can project theimage directly, by using lasers. A projector may be based on anEidophor, Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS or LCOS), or LCD, or may useDigital Light Processing (DLP™) technology, and may further be MEMSbased. A virtual retinal display, or retinal projector, is a projectorthat projects an image directly on the retina instead of using anexternal projection screen. Common display resolutions used todayinclude SVGA (800×600 pixels), XGA (1024×768 pixels), 720p (1280×720pixels), and 1080p (1920×1080 pixels). Standard-Definition (SD)standards, such as used in SD Television (SDTV), are referred to as576i, derived from the European-developed PAL and SECAM systems with 576interlaced lines of resolution; and 480i, based on the American NationalTelevision System Committee (ANTSC) NTSC system. High-Definition (HD)video refers to any video system of higher resolution thanstandard-definition (SD) video, and most commonly involves displayresolutions of 1,280×720 pixels (720p) or 1,920×1,080 pixels(1080i/1080p). A display may be a 3D (3-Dimensions) display, which isthe display device capable of conveying a stereoscopic perception of 3-Ddepth to the viewer. The basic technique is to present offset imagesthat are displayed separately to the left and right eye. Both of these2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perceptionof 3-D depth. The display may present the information as scrolling,static, bold or flashing.

The display may be an analog display having an analog signal input.Analog displays are commonly using interfaces such as composite videosuch as NTSC, PAL or SECAM formats. Similarly, analog RGB, VGA (VideoGraphics Array), SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), SCART, S-video andother standard analog interfaces can be used. Alternatively or inaddition, a display may be a digital display, having a digital inputinterface. Standard digital interfaces such as an IEEE1394 interface(a.k.a. FireWire™), may be used. Other digital interfaces that can beused are USB, SDI (Serial Digital Interface), HDMI (High-DefinitionMultimedia Interface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), UDI (UnifiedDisplay Interface), DisplayPort, Digital Component Video and DVB(Digital Video Broadcast). In some cases, an adaptor is required inorder to connect an analog display to the digital data. For example, theadaptor may convert between composite video (PAL, NTSC) or S-Video andDVI or HDTV signal. Various user controls can be available to allow theuser to control and effect the display operations, such as an on/offswitch, a reset button and others. Other exemplary controls involvedisplay associated settings such as contrast, brightness and zoom.

A display may be a Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) display, which is based onmoving an electron beam back and forth across the back of the screen.Such a display commonly comprises a vacuum tube containing an electrongun (a source of electrons), and a fluorescent screen used to viewimages. It further has a means to accelerate and deflect the electronbeam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images Each time the beammakes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the insideof the glass tube, thereby illuminating the active portions of thescreen. By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of thescreen, it creates an entire image. A CRT display may be a shadow maskor an aperture grille type.

A display may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display, which utilizetwo sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution betweenthem. An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystalsto align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal,therefore, is like a shutter, either allowing a backlit light to passthrough or blocking the light. In monochrome LCD images usually appearas blue or dark gray images on top of a grayish-white background. ColorLCD displays commonly use passive matrix and Thin Film Transistor (TFT)(or active-matrix) for producing color. Recent passive-matrix displaysare using new CSTN and DSTN technologies to produce sharp colorsrivaling active-matrix displays.

Some LCD displays use Cold-Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs) forbacklight illumination. An LED-backlit LCD is a flat panel display thatuses LED backlighting instead of the cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL)backlighting, allowing for a thinner panel, lower power consumption,better heat dissipation, a brighter display, and better contrast levels.Three forms of LED may be used: White edge-LEDs around the rim of thescreen, using a special diffusion panel to spread the light evenlybehind the screen (the most usual form currently), an array of LEDsarranged behind the screen whose brightness are not controlledindividually, and a dynamic “local dimming” array of LEDs that arecontrolled individually or in clusters to achieve a modulated backlightlight pattern. A Blue Phase Mode LCD is an LCD technology that useshighly twisted cholesteric phases in a blue phase, in order to improvethe temporal response of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). A FieldEmission Display (FED) is a display technology that uses large-areafield electron emission sources to provide the electrons that strikecolored phosphor, to produce a color image as an electronic visualdisplay. In a general sense, a FED consists of a matrix of cathode raytubes, each tube producing a single sub-pixel, grouped in threes to formred-green-blue (RGB) pixels. FEDs combine the advantages of CRTs, namelytheir high contrast levels and very fast response times, with thepackaging advantages of LCD and other flat panel technologies. They alsooffer the possibility of requiring less power, about half that of an LCDsystem. FED display operates like a conventional cathode ray tube (CRT)with an electron gun that uses high voltage (10 kV) to accelerateelectrons which in turn excite the phosphors, but instead of a singleelectron gun, a FED display contains a grid of individual nanoscopicelectron guns. A FED screen is constructed by laying down a series ofmetal stripes onto a glass plate to form a series of cathode lines.

A display may be an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display, adisplay device that sandwiches carbon-based films between two chargedelectrodes, one a metallic cathode and one a transparent anode, usuallybeing glass. The organic films consist of a hole-injection layer, ahole-transport layer, an emissive layer and an electron-transport layer.When voltage is applied to the OLED cell, the injected positive andnegative charges recombine in the emissive layer and create electroluminescent light. Unlike LCDs, which require backlighting, OLEDdisplays are emissive devices—they emit light rather than modulatetransmitted or reflected light. There are two main families of OLEDs:those based on small molecules and those employing polymers. Addingmobile ions to an OLED creates a light-emitting electrochemical cell orLEC, which has a slightly different mode of operation. OLED displays canuse either Passive-Matrix (PMOLED) or active-matrix addressing schemes.Active-Matrix OLEDs (AMOLED) require a thin-film transistor backplane toswitch each individual pixel on or off, but allow for higher resolutionand larger display sizes.

A display may be an Electroluminescent Displays (ELDs) type, which is aflat panel display created by sandwiching a layer of electroluminescentmaterial such as GaAs between two layers of conductors. When currentflows, the layer of material emits radiation in the form of visiblelight. Electroluminescence (EL) is an optical and electrical phenomenonwhere a material emits light in response to an electric current passedthrough it, or to a strong electric field.

A display may be based on an Electronic Paper Display (EPD) (a.k.a.e-paper and electronic ink) display technology which is designed tomimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventionalbacklit flat panel displays which emit light, electronic paper displaysreflect light like ordinary paper. Many of the technologies can holdstatic text and images indefinitely without using electricity, whileallowing images to be changed later. Flexible electronic paper usesplastic substrates and plastic electronics for the display backplane.

An EPD may be based on Gyricon technology, using polyethylene spheresbetween 75 and 106 micrometres across. Each sphere is a janus particlecomposed of negatively charged black plastic on one side and positivelycharged white plastic on the other (each bead is thus a dipole). Thespheres are embedded in a transparent silicone sheet, with each spheresuspended in a bubble of oil so that they can rotate freely. Thepolarity of the voltage applied to each pair of electrodes thendetermines whether the white or black side is face-up, thus giving thepixel a white or black appearance. Alternatively or in addition, an EPDmay be based on an electrophoretic display, where titanium dioxide(Titania) particles approximately one micrometer in diameter aredispersed in hydrocarbon oil. A dark-colored dye is also added to theoil, along with surfactants and charging agents that cause the particlesto take on an electric charge. This mixture is placed between twoparallel, conductive plates separated by a gap of 10 to 100 micrometers.When a voltage is applied across the two plates, the particles willmigrate electrophoretically to the plate bearing the opposite chargefrom that on the particles.

Further, an EPD may be based on Electro-Wetting Display (EWD), which isbased on controlling the shape of a confined water/oil interface by anapplied voltage. With no voltage applied, the (colored) oil forms a flatfilm between the water and a hydrophobic (water-repellent) insulatingcoating of an electrode, resulting in a colored pixel. When a voltage isapplied between the electrode and the water, it changes the interfacialtension between the water and the coating. As a result the stacked stateis no longer stable, causing the water to move the oil aside.Electrofluidic displays are a variation of an electrowetting display,involving the placing of aqueous pigment dispersion inside a tinyreservoir. Voltage is used to electromechanically pull the pigment outof the reservoir and spread it as a film directly behind the viewingsubstrate. As a result, the display takes on color and brightnesssimilar to that of conventional pigments printed on paper. When voltageis removed liquid surface tension causes the pigment dispersion torapidly recoil into the reservoir.

A display may be a Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) that emits a verybright light with high contrast and can support display elements ofvarious colors. VFDs can display seven-segment numerals, multi-segmentalphanumeric characters or can be made in a dot-matrix to displaydifferent alphanumeric characters and symbols.

A display may be a laser video display or a laser video projector. ALaser display requires lasers in three distinct wavelengths—red, green,and blue. Frequency doubling can be used to provide the greenwavelengths, and a small semiconductor laser such asVertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting-Laser (VECSEL) or aVertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) may be used. Severaltypes of lasers can be used as the frequency doubled sources: fiberlasers, inter cavity doubled lasers, external cavity doubled lasers,eVCSELs, and OPSLs (Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers). Among theinter-cavity doubled lasers VCSELs have shown much promise and potentialto be the basis for a mass produced frequency doubled laser. A VECSEL isa vertical cavity, and is composed of two mirrors. On top of one of themis a diode as the active medium. These lasers combine high overallefficiency with good beam quality. The light from the high powerIR-laser diodes is converted into visible light by means of extra-cavitywaveguided second harmonic generation. Laser-pulses with about 10 KHzrepetition rate and various lengths are sent to a Digital MicromirrorDevice where each mirror directs the pulse either onto the screen orinto the dump.

A display may be a segment display, such as a numerical or analphanumerical display that can show only digits or alphanumericcharacters, commonly composed of several segments that switch on and offto give the appearance of desired glyph, The segments are usually singleLEDs or liquid crystals, and may further display visual display materialbeyond words and characters, such as arrows, symbols, ASCII andnon-ASCII characters. Non-limiting examples are Seven-segment display(digits only), Fourteen-segment display, and Sixteen-segment display. Adisplay may be a dot matrix display, used to display information onmachines, clocks, railway departure indicators and many other devicesrequiring a simple display device of limited resolution. The displayconsists of a matrix of lights or mechanical indicators arranged in arectangular configuration (other shapes are also possible, although notcommon) such that by switching on or off selected lights, text orgraphics can be displayed. A dot matrix controller converts instructionsfrom a processor into signals which turns on or off the lights in thematrix so that the required display is produced.

In one non-limiting example, the display is a video display used to playa stored digital video, or an image display used to present storeddigital images, such as photos. The digital video (or image) content canbe stored in the display, the actuator unit, the router, the controlserver, or any combination thereof. Further, few video (or still image)files may be stored (e.g., representing different announcements orsongs), selected by the control logic. Alternatively or in addition, thedigital video data may be received by the display, the actuator unit,the router, the control server, or any combination thereof, fromexternal sources via any one of the networks. Furthermore, the source ofthe digital video or image may an image sensor (or video camera) servingas a sensor, either after processing, storing, delaying, or any othermanipulation, or as originally received, resulting Closed-CircuitTelevision (CCTV) functionality between an image sensor or camera and adisplay in the building, which may be used for surveillance in areasthat may need monitoring such as banks, casinos, airports, militaryinstallations, and convenience stores.

In one non-limiting example, an actuator unit further includes a signalgenerator coupled between the processor and the actuator. The signalgenerator may be used to control the actuator, for example by providingan electrical signal affecting the actuator operation, such as changingthe magnitude of the actuator affect or operation. Such a signalgenerator may be a digital signal generator, or may be an analog signalgenerator, having an analog electrical signal output. Analog signalgenerator may be a digital signal generator, which digital output isconverted to analog signal using a digital to analog converter, as shownin actuator unit 60 shown in FIG. 6, where two D/A converters 62 a and62 b are connected to the computer 63 outputs, and where the analogoutputs are coupled to respectively control the actuators 61 a and 61 b.The signal generator may be based on software (or firmware) stored inthe unit and executed by the computer 63, or may be a separated circuitor component connected between the computer 63 and the D/A converters 62a and 62 b. In such an arrangement, the computer may be used to activatethe signal generator, or to select a waveform or signal to be generated.In one non-limiting example, the signal generator serves as theactuator, for generating an electrical signal, such as voltage andcurrent.

A signal generator (a.k.a. frequency generator) is an electronic deviceor circuit devices that can generate repeating or non-repeatingelectronic signals (typically voltage or current), having an analogoutput (analog signal generator) or a digital output (digital signalgenerator). The output signal may be based on an electrical circuit, ormay be based on a generated or stored digital data. A function generatoris typically a signal generator which produces simple repetitivewaveforms. Such devices contain an electronic oscillator, a circuit thatis capable of creating a repetitive waveform, or may use digital signalprocessing to synthesize waveforms, followed by a digital to analogconverter, or DAC, to produce an analog output. Common waveforms are asine wave, a sawtooth, a step (pulse), a square, and a triangularwaveforms. The generator may include some sort of modulationfunctionality such as Amplitude Modulation (AM), Frequency Modulation(FM), or Phase Modulation (PM). An Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWGs)are sophisticated signal generators which allow the user to generatearbitrary waveforms, within published limits of frequency range,accuracy, and output level. Unlike function generators, which arelimited to a simple set of waveforms; an AWG allows the user to specifya source waveform in a variety of different ways. Logic signal generator(a.k.a. data pattern generator and digital pattern generator) is adigital signal generator that produces logic types of signals—that islogic l's and 0's in the form of conventional voltage levels. The usualvoltage standards are: LVTTL, LVCMOS.

In one non-limiting example, an actuator unit further includes anelectrical switch (or multiple switches) coupled between the processorand the actuator. The electric switch may be used to activate theactuator, for example by completing an electrical circuit allowingcurrent to flow to the actuator. Such arrangement is exampled regardingthe actuator units 60 a, 60 b, 60 f and 60 g, respectively shown inFIGS. 6a, 6b, 6e, and 6f , connecting an electrical power source to aload. The load may be an actuator, and may be internal or external tothe actuator unit, and may further be power fed from the same powersource (and same power supply) of the actuator unit, or alternatively orin addition, a separate power source may be used to power the load orthe actuator. The switch may be integrated with the actuator (ifseparated from the actuator unit), with the actuator unit, or anycombination thereof. In the above examples, a controller can affect theactuator (or load) activation by sending the actuator unit a message toactivate the actuator by powering it, or to deactivate the actuatoroperation by breaking the current floe thereto. In another non-limitingexample, the actuator may be in two (or more) states, and the switchactivates one or more of the states, or shifts the actuator betweenstates. For example, an electric motor may have two speeds, controlledby a connected switch, which is under the controller control.

Any component that is designed to open (breaking, interrupting), close(making), or change one or more electrical circuits may serve as aswitch, preferably under some type of external control. Preferably, theswitch is an electromechanical device with one or more sets ofelectrical contacts having two or more states. The switch may be a‘normally open’ type, requiring actuation for closing the contacts, maybe ‘normally closed’ type, where actuation affects breaking the circuit,or may be a changeover switch, having both types of contactsarrangements. A changeover switch may be either a ‘make-before-break’ or‘break-before-make’ types. The switch contacts may have one or morepoles and one or more throws. Common switches contacts arrangementsinclude Single-Pole-Single-Throw (SPST), Single-Pole-Double-Throw(SPDT), Double-Pole-Double-Throw (DPDT), Double-Pole-Single-Throw(DPST), and Single-Pole-Changeover (SPCO). A switch may be electricallyor mechanically actuated.

A relay is a non-limiting example of an electrically operated switch. Arelay may be a latching relay, that has two relaxed states (bistable),and when the current is switched off, the relay remains in its laststate. This is achieved with a solenoid operating a ratchet and cammechanism, or by having two opposing coils with an over-center spring orpermanent magnet to hold the armature and contacts in position while thecoil is relaxed, or with a permanent core. A relay may be anelectromagnetic relay, that typically consists of a coil of wire wrappedaround a soft iron core, an iron yoke which provides a low reluctancepath for magnetic flux, a movable iron armature, and one or more sets ofcontacts. The armature is hinged to the yoke and mechanically linked toone or more sets of moving contacts. It is held in place by a spring sothat when the relay is de-energized there is an air gap in the magneticcircuit. In this condition, one of the two sets of contacts in the relaypictured is closed, and the other set is open. A reed relay is a reedswitch enclosed in a solenoid, and the switch has a set of contactsinside an evacuated or inert gas-filled glass tube, which protects thecontacts against atmospheric corrosion.

Alternatively or in addition, a relay may be a Solid State Relay (SSR),where a solid-state based component functioning as a relay, withouthaving any moving parts. Alternatively or in addition, a switch may beimplemented using an electrical circuit. For example, an open collector(or open drain) based circuit may be used. Further, an opto-isolator(a.k.a. optocoupler, photocoupler, or optical isolator) may be used toprovide isolated signal transfer to the actuator. Further, a thyristorsuch as a Triode for Alternating Current (TRIAC) may be used fortriggering power to an actuator.

A field unit may be a sensor unit such as sensor unit 50 shown above inFIG. 5, including one or more sensors, or may be an actuator unit suchas actuator unit 60 shown above in FIG. 6, including one or moreactuators, or may be a sensor/actuator unit such as sensor actuator unit70 shown in FIG. 7. Such a sensor/actuator 70 includes an analog sensorMa connected via A/D converter 52 a. Any number of sensors 51 of anytype may be equally used. The sensor/actuator 70 further includes ananalog actuator 61 a connected via D/A converter 62 a. Any number ofactuators 61 of any type may be equally used. The sensors 51 and theactuators 61 are connected to a computer 71, which communicates over thenetwork medium via a suitable modem, such as wired modem (ortransceiver) 72, suitable for communication over the cable 79 terminatedby connector 78, which connects to the mating connector 77 in thesensor/actuator unit 70. Similarly, sensor and actuator units or theirfunctionalities may be integrated, and thus may share any resources. Forexample, both circuits may share a power source, a power supply or apower connector. Similarly, other electronic circuits mat be shared andused for both functionalities. Further, the same connector orconnectors, as well as interfaces and other support circuits may be usedby both functionalities. Furthermore, the associated componentsimplementing these functionalities may be housed in the same enclosure,or may be mounted to the same surface. In one non-limiting example, thehardware relating to both functionalities may be integrated onto asingle substrate (e.g., Silicon “die”), or as components mounted on thesame PCB.

A non-limiting example of a power control field unit 70 a is shown aspart of arrangement 700 a shown in FIG. 7a . Similar to arrangement 600a shown in FIG. 6a , a load 58 is powered from a power source 56 a andcan be turned on and off by the controlled switch 601 controlled bycomputer 71 a. In addition, a current meter 57 is connected in series tomeasure the current or the power consumption of the load 58.

A field unit may be powered, in whole or in part, from an AC or DC powersource, which may be integrated with the unit enclosure, may be externalto the unit enclosure, or any combination thereof. Typically, a powersupply is connected to the power source to be power fed therefrom, andprovides a single (or multiple) voltage as required by the field unit.Commonly, one or more regulated DC voltage is supplied by the powersupply, which may be a linear or a switching type. The power supplyoutputs are commonly regulated to provide stable voltages (and/orcurrents, if applicable), under varying power source and loadconditions. The power supply outputs are commonly protected againstoverload, for example by a fuse or a current limiter, and are commonlyprotected against overvoltage, over-current, or other instabilities andabnormal condition of the power source. Further, a power supply may alsoserve to provide electrical isolation, and further commonly filters anelectrical noise between its inputs and outputs. A sensor may be powerfed from the same power source or power supply powering the field unitcircuits, or may use a dedicated power source or power supply, which maybe internal or external to the field unit enclosure. An actuator may bepower fed from the same power source or power supply powering the fieldunit circuits, or may use a dedicated power source or power supply,which may be internal or external to the field unit enclosure.

A field unit may be locally electrically powered from a power sourceintegrated within the unit. Such a power source 56 is shown as part ofthe sensor unit 50 in FIG. 5. Such power source 56 may be based on abattery. The battery may be a primary battery or cell, in which anirreversible chemical reaction generates the electricity, and thus thecell is disposable and cannot be recharged, and need to be replacedafter the battery is drained. Such battery replacement may be expensiveand cumbersome. Alternatively or in addition, a rechargeable (secondary)battery may be used, such as a nickel-cadmium based battery. In such acase, a battery charger is employed for charging the battery while it isin use or not in use. Various types of such battery chargers are knownin the art, such as trickle chargers, pulse chargers and the like. Thebattery charger may be integrated with the field unit or be external toit. The battery may be a primary or a rechargeable (secondary) type, mayinclude a single or few batteries, and may use various chemicals for theelectro-chemical cells, such as lithium, alkaline and nickel-cadmium.Common batteries are manufactured in pre-defined standard outputvoltages (1.5, 3, 4.5, 9 Volts, for example), as well as definedstandard mechanical enclosures (usually defined by letters such as “A”,“AA”, “B”, “C” sizes), and ‘coin’ type. In one embodiment the battery(or batteries) is held in a battery holder or compartment, and thus canbe easily replaced.

In one non-limiting example, the field unit is locally energized usingan electrical energy generator to locally generate electrical power forcharging the rechargeable battery via a battery charger. Preferably, thegenerator is integrated within the field unit enclosure. Alternativelyor in addition, the generator may directly feed the power consumingcomponents in the field unit without using any electrical energy storagedevice such as a rechargeable battery. Such generator may be based onconverting kinetic energy harvested from the field unit motion, whichmay be caused by a human or animal activity, to electrical energy. Sucha generator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,692,320 to Lemieux entitled:“Electrical Energy Generator”, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,877 to Tiemannentitled: “Apparatus for Converting Vibratory Motion to ElectricalEnergy”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,847,421 to Gardner et al. entitled: “Systemfor Generating Electrical Energy from Ambient Motion” and in U.S. PatentApplication No. 2007/0210580 to Roberts et al. entitled:“Electromechanical Generator for, and Method of, Converting MechanicalVibrational Energy into Electrical Energy”, as well as a battery-shapedgenerator described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,688,036 to Yarger et al.entitled: “System and Method for Storing Energy”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. Using kinetic energy harvesting as an electrical power sourcemay be useful in cased wherein the sensor in a field unit is involved inmeasuring motion (e.g., speed or acceleration). Another type of powersource may use a solar or photovoltaic cell described above. In onenon-limiting example, the same element may double as a sensor and as apower source. For example, a solar or photovoltaic cell may be used as alight sensor, simultaneously with serving as a power source, and anelectromechanical generator, for example based on harvesting mechanicalvibration energy, may at the same time be used to measure the mechanicalvibrations (e.g., frequency or magnitude). Similarly, a thermoelectricdevice based on the Peltier effect may be used as a thermoelectricgenerator, in addition to being a temperature sensor, heater or acooler.

In another non-limiting example, a field unit is powered from anexternal power source. Such implementation is exampled in the actuatorunit 60 shown in FIG. 6. The unit 60 is powered from a power supply 66which is power fed from the common AC power supply via AC plug connector68 and a power cord 67, using the mains AC power (commonly 115 VAC/60 Hzin North America or 220 VAC/50 Hz in Europe) as the power source. Thepower supply commonly includes an AC/DC converter, for converting the ACvoltage into the required low-level stabilized DC voltage or voltages,commonly suitable for power the digital circuits, such as 3.3 VDC, 5 VDCor 12 VDC. Power supplies commonly include voltage stabilizers forensuring that the output remains within certain limits under variousload conditions, and typically employs a transformer, silicon diodebridge rectifier, reservoir capacitor and voltage regulator IC. Switchedmode regulator supplies also include an inductor. In one embodiment, thepower supply 66 is integrated into a single device or circuit, in orderto share common circuits. Further, the power supply 66 may include aboost converter, such as a buck boost converter, charge pump, inverterand regulators as known in the art, as required for conversion of oneform of electrical power to another desired form and voltage. Whilepower supply 66 (either separated or integrated) can be an integral partand housed within the unit enclosure (together with the computer 63), itmay be enclosed as a separate housing connected via cable to thecomputer system enclosure. For example, a small outlet plug-in step-downtransformer shape can be used (also known as wall-wart, “power brick”,“plug pack”, “plug-in adapter”, “adapter block”, “domestic mainsadapter”, “power adapter”, or AC adapter). Further, power supply 66 maybe a linear or switching type.

In one example, a field unit is powered by a power signal carried overthe same wires or over the same cable used also for communication. Forexample, in the case of wired communication with a router, a gateway oranother field unit, the same cable may be used for simultaneouslycarrying the digital data communication and the power signal. In onenon-limiting example, the power is carried over dedicated and distinctwires, thus the power signal is carried separated from any other signalscarried over the cable. Such configuration further requires the use of acable and connectors having at least four contacts, where two (or more)are used for the power and at least two are used for the digital datasignal (or for any other signal carried in the system).

In an alternative remote powering scheme, the power signal and the datasignal (e.g., serial digital data signal) are concurrently carriedtogether over the same wires, as exampled in the sensor/actuator unit 70shown in FIG. 7. This scheme makes use of a power/data splitter (PDS) 76and a power/data combiner (PDC) circuit 86, where the latter combinesthe power and data signals to a combined signal, and the first split acombined signal into its power and data signal components, as describedin arrangement 80 in FIG. 8. Such PDS or PDC circuits (e.g., PDC 86 andPDS 76 in FIG. 8) commonly employ three ports designated as ‘PD’ 761(stands for Power+Data), ‘13’ 763 (stands for Data only) and ‘P’ 762(stands for Power only). The PDC 77 may be part of another device 81such as a switch, a router or a gateway. In the PDS 76, the cable 79(carrying both power and data) is connected to port ‘PD’ 761 a, whichpasses the a data signal received from, or transmitted to, the port ‘D’763 a to or from the modem 72, while the power signal carried over thecable 79 is split and supplied to port P 762 a and connected to via theconnection 75 to the power supply 73, which in turn feeds power to theunit 70 electrical circuits. Similarly, the power signal fed byconnection 82 to the power port P 762 b, and the digital data signalcarried over the connection 83 are combined in PDC 77 and connected viaport ‘PD’ 761 b to cable 79 via connectors 84 and its mating connector85. Thus, power signal transparently passes between ports ‘PD’ 761 and P762, while data signal (e.g., serial digital data signal) istransparently passed between ports ‘PD’ 761 and ‘D’ 763. The powersignal may be AC or DC, and the PDC 86 or the PDS 76 may each containonly passive components or alternatively may contain both active andpassive electronic circuits.

In an alternative arrangement, the power and communication signals arecarried over the wires in the cable using Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (FDM, a.k.a. Frequency Domain Multiplexing). In such animplementation, the power and the communications signals are carriedeach in its frequency band (or a single frequency) distinct from eachother. For example, the power signal can be a DC (Direct Current) power(effectively 0 Hz), while the communication signal is carried over the100 Hz-10 MHz (or 4-30 MHz) frequency band, which is distinct and abovethe DC power frequency. In this case, the component on each side mayfurther include a low pass filter coupled between the connector and thetransceiver (transmitter/receiver) for substantially passing only thepower frequency, for powering the device from the power signal, or forinjecting the power signal. Such device may also further include a highpass filter coupled between the connector and the transceiver forsubstantially passing only the communication frequency band, for passingthe communication signal between the connector and the transceiver.Another technique for carrying power and data signals over the sameconductors is known as Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) (i.e., Power overLAN—PoL) and standardized under IEEE 802.3af and IEEE 802.3at, alsoexplained in U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,608 to Lehr et al. entitled: “StructureCabling System”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein, which describes a method to carry powerover LAN wiring, using the spare pairs and the phantom mechanism. Thelatter makes use of center-tap transformers. The powering scheme may usethe standards above, as well as using non-standard and proprietarypowering schemes.

In one non-limiting example, the data and power signals are carried overthe same wires using Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), where eachsignal is using a different frequency band, and wherein the frequencybands are spaced in frequency. For example, the power signal can be a DCsignal (0 Hz), while the data signal will be carried over a bandexcluding the DC frequency. Similarly, the power signal can be an ACpower signal, using a frequency above the frequency band used by thedata signal. Separation or combining the power and data signals makesuse of filters, passing or stopping the respective bands. A non-limitingexample of a circuit 90 that may serve as a PDS 76 or as PDC 77 is shownin FIG. 9, corresponding to the case wherein the power signal is a DCsignal (0 Hz), while the data signal is an AC signal carried over a bandexcluding the DC frequency. A capacitor 91 a, which may be supplementedwith another capacitor 91 b is connected between the PD port 761 and theD port 763, implementing a High Pass Filter (HPF) 92. The HPF 92substantially stops the DC power signal and substantially passes thedata signal (or any AC signal) between the connected correspondingports. An inductor 94 a, which may be supplemented with another inductor94 b is connected between the PD port 761 and the P port 762,implementing a Low Pass Filter (LPF) 93. The LPF 93 substantially stopsthe data signal and substantially passes the DC power signal between theconnected corresponding ports. Other passive or active implementationsof the HPF 92 and LPF 93 can be equally used. Similarly, the powersignal may be low-frequency power voltage, such as 50 Hz or 60 Hz.

Alternatively or in addition, the data and power signals are carriedover the same wires using a split-tap transformer, as commonly known forpowering an analog telephone set known as POTS (Plain Old TelephoneService and ISDN). A non-limiting example of a circuit 100 that mayserve as a PDS 76 or as PDC 86 is shown in FIG. 8, corresponding forexample to the case wherein the power signal is a DC signal (0 Hz),while the data signal is an AC signal carried over a band excluding theDC frequency. A transformer 101 is connected between the PD port 761 andthe D port 763, where the primary side windings 103 a and 103 bconnected to the PD port 761, and the secondary winding 103 c isconnected to the D port 763. The primary side is split to be formed oftwo windings 103 a and 103 b, connected together with capacitor 102. Thetransformer substantially passes the data signal between PD port 761 andthe D port 763, while the DC power signal (or a low frequency AC signal)is blocked by the capacitor 102. Any DC signal such as the DC powersignal is substantially passed between the PD port 761 and the P port762.

In another alternative, the power signal is carried over a phantomchannel between two pairs carrying the data signal or other signals. Anon-limiting example of a of a circuit 110 that may serve as a PDS 76 oras PDC 86 is shown in FIG. 11, corresponding for example to the casewherein the power signal is a DC signal (0 Hz), while the data signal isan AC signal carried over a band excluding the DC frequency. Thetransformers 111 a and 111 b are connected between the PD port 761 andthe D port 763, substantially passing data signals there between. Thesplit-tap 122 b (of the winding 122 a of transformer 111 a) and thesplit-tap 122 e (of the winding 122 d of transformer 111 b) areconnected to the P port 762, allowing for DC power flow between the PDport 761 and the P port 762. Such a phantom arrangement is used incommunication based on IEEE802.3af or IEEE802.3at standards. Using thephantom channel for carrying power may be used in the case wherein atleast four conductors are used as a connecting medium between modules.

In one non-limiting example, the same element is simultaneously used asboth a sensor and as a power source. For example, a solar orphotovoltaic cell may be doubly used as a sensor measuring the lightintensity, for example by measuring the voltage or current output of thecell, and further the voltage or current generated are used to power inwhole or part of the sensor unit or the field unit. Similarly, a dynamo,an alternator, an electric generator, or any other device that convertsmechanical energy to electrical energy may be used, where the outputpower, voltage or current is used both as the sensor indicating themagnitude of the mechanical phenomenon, and also as the power source topower entire or part of the unit.

In one non-limiting example, the bus connecting to the field unit or tothe processor is based on a LAN communication, such as Ethernet, and maybe partly or in full in accordance with the IEEE802.3 standard. Forexample, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) may be used, describingvarious technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of agigabit per second (1,000,000,000 bits per second), as defined by theIEEE 802.3-2008 standard. There are five physical layer standards forgigabit Ethernet using optical fiber (1000BASE-X), twisted pair cable(1000BASE-T), or balanced copper cable (1000BASE-CX). The IEEE 802.3zstandard includes 1000BASE-SX for transmission over multi-mode fiber,1000BASE-LX for transmission over single-mode fiber, and the nearlyobsolete 1000BASE-CX for transmission over balanced copper cabling.These standards use 8b/10b encoding, which inflates the line rate by25%, from 1000 Mbit/s to 1250 Mbit/s, to ensure a DC balanced signal.The symbols are then sent using NRZ. The IEEE 802.3ab, which defines thewidely used 1000BASE-T interface type, uses a different encoding schemein order to keep the symbol rate as low as possible, allowingtransmission over twisted pair. Similarly, The 10 gigabit Ethernet (LOGE or 10 GbE or 10 GigE may be used, which is a version of Ethernet witha nominal data rate of 10 Gbit/s (billion bits per second), ten timesfaster than gigabit Ethernet. The 10 gigabit Ethernet standard definesonly full duplex point to point links which are generally connected bynetwork switches. The 10 gigabit Ethernet standard encompasses a numberof different physical layers (PHY) standards. A networking device maysupport different PHY types through pluggable PHY modules, such as thosebased on SFP+.

The powering scheme may be based on Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), whichdescribes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, onEthernet cabling, and may use phantom configuration for carrying thepower. The PoE technology and applications are described in the WhitePaper “All You Need To Know About Power over Ethernet (PoE) and the IEEE802.3af Standard”, by PowerDsine Ltd., 06-0002-082 20 May, 04, and inU.S. Pat. No. 6,473,609 to Lehr et al. entitled: “Structure CablingSystem”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein. The IEEE standard for PoE requirescategory 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate withcategory 3 cable for low power levels. The power is supplied in commonmode over two or more of the differential pairs of wires found in theEthernet cables, and fed from a power supply within a PoE-enablednetworking device such as an Ethernet switch, or can be injected into acable run with a midspan power supply. The IEEE 802.3af-2003 PoEstandard, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein, provides up to 15.4 Watts of DC power (minimum44 V DC and 350 mA) to each device. Only 12.95 Watts is assured to beavailable to the powered device as some power is dissipated in thecable. The updated IEEE 802.3at-2009 PoE standard, also known as PoE+ orPoE plus, and which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes asif fully set forth herein, provides up to 25.5 Watts of power. In PoEenvironment, a powering unit (such as unit 81) which may be a switch, arouter or a gateway, may serve as a Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) thatprovides (“sources”) power on the Ethernet cable. A field unit (such assensor/actuator unit 70) consuming power from the LAN is referred to asa Powered Device (PD).

The controller functionality 147 may be integrated in the router 143(corresponding for example to router 12 in FIG. 2, router 40 in FIG. 4,gateway 11 in FIG. 1, or router 40 a in FIGS. 4a-4d ), as shown inarrangement 145 in FIG. 14. The router 143 is exampled having a port 146a for coupling to the control network 22 and a port 146 b for connectingto control network 22 a. The control network 22 couples field units 23a, 23 b and 23 c to each other and to the router 143. The controlnetwork 22 a couples field units 23 d, 23 e and 23 f to each other andto the router 143. A non-limiting example of data flow used forimplementing a control system is shown in arrangement 145 a in FIG. 14.Data from a sensor in the field unit 23 f is communicated to the router143 over the communication path 144 d, referring to the data transmittedfrom the field unit 23 f, and carried (directly or via interveningdevices) over the control network 22 a to the port 146 b of the router143. Similarly, data from a sensor in the field unit 23 c iscommunicated to the router 143 over the communication path 144 b,referring to the data transmitted from the field unit 23 c, and carriedover the control network 22 to the port 146 a of the router 143. Thedata received from the field units 23 in the router 143 is analyzed andprocessed, and based on control logic that may be embedded in thecontroller 147, may generate a command for activating or triggeringvarious actuators. For example, a command to an actuator in the fieldunit 23 a is communicated from the router 143 over the communicationpath 144 a, referring to the data transmitted from router 143 via theport 146 a, and carried over the control network 22 the field unit 23 a.Similarly, a command to an actuator in the field unit 23 e iscommunicated from the router 143 over the communication path 144 c,referring to the data transmitted from router 143 via the port 146 b,and carried over the control network 22 a the field unit 23 e.

While a single sensor in a field unit is described, two or more sensorsmay equally be used in the same field unit 23. Further, while two fieldunits are described to send data to the router 143, one, three or morefield units may be part of the control system, each sending data fromone or more sensors associated with it. Further, while two field units23 c and 23 f are described, each communicating via the respectiveassociated control network 22 and 22 a, a single control network ormultiple (three or more) control networks may be equally used. Further,while two field units are described to send data to the router 143, one,three or more field units may be part of the control system, eachsending data from one or more sensors associated with it. While a singleactuator in a field unit is described, two or more actuators may equallybe used in the same field unit 23, with or without sensors associatedwith it. Further, while two field units are described to receive datafrom the router 143, one, three or more field units may be part of thecontrol system, each receiving data for activating or triggering one ormore actuators associated with it. Further, while two field units 23 aand 23 e are described, each communicating via the respective associatedcontrol network 22 and 22 a, a single control network or multiple (threeor more) control networks may be equally used. Further, while two fieldunits are described to receive data from the router 143, one, three ormore field units may be part of the control system, each receiving datafor activating or triggering one or more actuators associated with it.

Alternatively or in addition, the controller 147 may be in part or inwhole located external to the controlled premises 19. Such anarrangement 150 is shown in FIG. 15, where the controller 147 isintegrated with the server 151, which may correspond to the server 17shown in FIG. 1, the gateway server 24 shown in FIGS. 2-3, or thegateway server 48 shown in FIGS. 4-4 e. In such configuration, therouter 21 may serve for relaying sensor data from the field units 23 tothe controller 147, and for relaying command data from the controller147 to the field units 23 in the premises 19. The router 21 maycondition or otherwise manipulate the data in one or both directions.Arrangement 150 a in FIG. 15a shows a non-limiting example of data pathsin the arrangement 150. The data path 152 d describes the data flow fromthe field unit 23 f via control network 22 a to port 146 b of the router21, which in turn transmits the data to the server 151 via the Internet16. Similarly, the data path 152 b describes the data flow from thefield unit 23 c via control network 22 to port 146 a of the router 21,which in turn transmits the data to the server 151 via the Internet 16.The command data is sent over the data path 152 c from the server 151via the Internet 16 to the field unit 23 e, via the router 21 andcontrol network 22 a. Similarly, a command data may be sent over datapath 152 a from the server 151 via the Internet 16 to the field unit 23a, via the router 21 and control network 22.

Alternatively or in addition, the controller functionality 147 may be inpart or in whole located internal to the controlled premises 19. In onenon-limiting example, the controller 147 is integrated in a computerlocated inside the premises 19, as shown in arrangement 160 in FIG. 16.The controller 147 in shown integrated with a personal computer 161. Thecomputer 161 may be connected to the router 21 directly or via anetwork, such as via one of the control networks, or alternatively (orin addition) use another network, such as home network 14 a, as shown inFIG. 16, where the router 21 includes a port 146 a connected to the homenetwork 14 a. Arrangement 160 a shown in FIG. 16a shows example of thevarious data paths that may be used, such as the data path 162 dcoupling the field unit 23 f to the computer 161 via the control network22 a, router 21 and the home network 14 a, the data path 162 b couplingthe field unit 23 c to the computer 161 via the control network 22,router 21 and the home network 14 a, the data path 162 c coupling thecomputer 161 to the field unit 23 e via the control network 22 a, router21 and the home network 14 a, and the data path 162 a coupling thecomputer 161 to the field unit 23 a via the control network 22, router21 and the home network 14 a.

The controller functionality 147 may consist of, or include part orwhole, of the flow chart 170 shown in FIG. 17. At step ‘Receive SensorData’ 171, data sent from one or more sensors (which are part of one ormore field units) is received at the controller location. The sensorinformation is checked, processed, conditioned, or otherwise manipulatedin step ‘Sensor Conditioning’ 172. Other signal conditioningfunctionalities may also be applied in order to improve the handling ofthe sensor received data or for adapting it to the next step ormanipulating, such as attenuation, delay, filtering, amplifying,digitizing, integration, derivation, and any other signal manipulation.The conditioning may include frequency related manipulation such asfiltering, spectrum analysis or noise removal, smoothing or de-blurringin case of image enhancement, a compressor (or de-compressor) or a coder(or decoder) in case of compression or coding/decoding, a modulator or ademodulator in case or modulation, and an extractor for extracting ordetecting a feature or parameter such as pattern recognition orcorrelation analysis. The ‘Sensor conditioning’ step 172 may applylinear or non-linear manipulations, and the manipulation may betime-related such as delaying, integration or rate-based manipulation.The sensors conditioned data serves as input to the step ‘Logic’ 173,determining the output based on the sensors input according to apre-determined logic function or algorithm. The control logic executedin step ‘Logic’ 173 outputs various actuators commands, which areconditioned in the ‘Actuator Conditioning’ step 174, for properoperation of the specific actuators. The conditioning may includeattenuation, delay, filtering, amplifying, time integration, derivation,and any other data manipulations as described above regarding the‘Sensor Conditioning’ step 172. The conditioned control commands aresent to the relevant actuators in the applicable field units in the step‘Send Actuator Command’ 175. While the flowchart 170 is exampledincluding both receiving data from sensors and activating actuators, acontroller 143 may only receive data from various sensors in the fieldunits (e.g., for logging purposes) while not activating any actuators,or only transmit commands to various actuators in the field units (e.g.,according to time) regardless of any sensing information, or anycombination thereof. Further, a controller 143 may use various controllogic patterns at different times, where at one time the controller onlyreceives data from the sensors, at another time the controller onlytransmit commands to the actuators, and yet at another time thecontroller does both functions.

In the ‘Send Notification’ step 178, a message is sent to a user deviceto notify or alert a user. The notification may be sent periodically andinclude the system or any sub-system status, or may be sent upon anevent, based on a predetermined condition or criteria. The message maybe sent upon receiving a sensor data at ‘Receive Sensor Data’ step 171,may include a notification of the event of receiving the sensor data,and may include the received sensor data. Alternatively or in additionthe message may be sent before, in parallel to, or after theconditioning in step ‘Sensor Conditioning’ 172, may include anotification of the event of conditioning the sensor data, and mayinclude the sensor data before or after the conditioning of step 172, orany other conditioning. Alternatively or in addition the message may besent before, in parallel to, or after the control logic processexecution in step ‘Logic’ 173, may include a notification of the eventof processing according to the logic of the sensor data, and may includethe logic input or the logic output such as the actuator commands, ormay use any other logic. Alternatively or in addition the message may besent before, in parallel to, or after the conditioning and thegeneration of the actuator commands in step ‘Actuator Conditioning’ 174,may include a notification of the event of the conditioning, and mayinclude the actuator commands before or after the conditioning. Theconditioning, logic or processing associated with the message sensing instep 178 may be the same, based on, or may be different from, thecondition and logic used for the control itself, and may use the same ofdifferent predetermined criteria. For example, a message may be sentupon receiving sensor data above or below a threshold, or upon anactuator command that is above or below a threshold. Any event,notification, or alert may include a timestamp, which is a sequence ofcharacters or encoded information identifying when a certain eventoccurred, usually giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to asmall fraction of a second. A notification may include a sensor data,such as the sensor or the associated field unit address (e.g., IPaddress) and location (e.g., kitchen, bedroom #1), the sensor type(e.g., temperature sensor) and make, the measured value (e.g. 25° C.),the sensor version or part-number, and the notification reason (e.g.,periodic, pre-set time, above predetermined threshold). Similarly, anotification may include an actuator status or commands, such as theactuator or the associated field unit address (e.g., IP address) andlocation (e.g., kitchen, bedroom #1), the actuator type (e.g., heater)and make, the commanded value (e.g. 25° C.), the actuator version orpart-number, and the notification reason (e.g., periodic, preset time,above predetermined threshold). Further, the notification may include anaudio such as from a microphone serving as a sensor as in FIG. 19, or avideo or images, such as from a camera serving as a sensor as in FIG.18.

The notification or alert to the user device may be text based, such asan electronic mail (e-mail), website content, fax, or a Short MessageService (SMS). Alternatively or in addition, the notification or alertto the user device may be voice based, such as a voicemail, a voicemessage to a telephone device. Alternatively or in addition, thenotification or the alert to the user device may activate a vibrator,causing vibrations that are felt by human body touching, or may be basedon a Multimedia Message Service (MMS) or Instant Messaging (IM). Themessaging, alerting, and notifications may be based on, include part of,or may be according to U.S. Patent Application No. 2009/0024759 toMcKibben et al. entitled: “System and Method for Providing AlertingServices”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,653,573 to Hayes, Jr. et al. entitled:“Customer Messaging Service”, U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,316 to Langseth. etal. entitled: “System and Method for a Subject-Based ChannelDistribution of Automatic, Real-Time Delivery of PersonalizedInformational and Transactional Data”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,001 toEichstaedt et al. entitled: “Method and System for Data Collection forAlert Delivery”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,482 to Wille entitled: “ProgressiveAlert Indications in a Communication Device”, U.S. Patent ApplicationNo. 2007/0214095 to Adams et al. entitled: “Monitoring and NotificationSystem and Method”, U.S. Patent Application No. 2008/0258913 to Buseyentitled: “Electronic Personal Alert System”, or U.S. Pat. No. 7,557,689to Seddigh et al. entitled: “Customer Messaging Service”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

The information and the notification sent to the user device in ‘SendNotification’ step 178, may be further logged or recorded in a data-basein ‘Log’ step 176. The data base may be accessed or sent in ‘Send LogInformation’ step 177. The logging and the storing the data base may bein the same user device receiving the notification in ‘SendNotification’ step 178, or may be a distinct user device, and may bepart of, or integrated with, any other device in the system.

The control logic 173 may be a Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO) whichis based a single sensor and operative to control a single actuator.Alternatively or in addition, multiple sensors and actuators may be partof the control loop, referred to as Multi-Input-Multi-Output (MIMO).Similarly, SIMO and MISO control may be used as well. Further, thecontrol may use linear or non-linear control schemes.

The control logic 173 may implement a sequential control (a.k.a. logiccontrol), functioning much as a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC).Such sequential controllers commonly respond to various sensors bystarting and stopping various operations, and typically make use ofBoolean logic. Typically the system operation is based a state machine(or state diagram) and can be in various states (one state active at atime), and may transition from one state to another sequentially, orbased on a transition condition, which are based on timing and data fromthe sensors. The system operation may be described or programmedgraphically such as in a Ladder diagram (LD) or in a Function blockdiagram (FBD), or alternatively textually such as in Structured text(ST) and Instruction list (IL), as described for example in IEC 61131-3.

Alternatively or in addition, the control logic 173 implements anopen-loop control, a feed-forward control, a closed-loop control or anycombination thereof. In one non-limiting example, the controller 143 isa non-feedback controller, where the control logic 173 implemented aspart of the controller flowchart 170 involves an open-loop control. Insuch a system, the control logic 173 does not use any feedback, such asfrom the various sensors, to determine the output commands to theactuators, but rather employs a pre-defined control mechanism. Unlikeclosed-control system, an open-loop system typically cannot engage inmachine learning, cannot correct errors and does not compensate for anydisturbances in the system. In some open-loop control systems, a humanoperator is involved in order to provide a ‘feedback’ for the systemoperation.

Alternatively or in addition, a non-feedback control, such asfeed-forward control scheme may be used. In a typical feed-forwardsystem, a measured disturbance is responded to in a pre-defined way,usually to maintain some desired state of the system in a changingenvironment. The disturbance is measured and fed forward to the controlloop, so that corrective action can be initiated (without an actualfeedback from the controlled element) in advance of the disturbancehaving an adverse effect on the system. The control systems may combineboth feed-forward and feedback control, for better performance, such asthe system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,499,239 to Chang entitled:“Feedforward Controller and Methods for Use Therewith”, which isincorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. Such system is also described and analyzed in Ben-GurionUniversity Publication entitled: “Chapter 9—Feedforward Control” (pages221-240) downloaded fromhttp://www.bgu.ac.il/chem_eng/pages/Courses/oren%20courses/Chapter_9.pdf,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

Alternatively or in addition, a closed-loop control is implemented bythe controller 143. In such a system, a physical phenomenon is sensed,measured, or detected by one or more sensors, and the logic 173responses to the data received by commanding the activity of actuators,which directly or indirectly affects, change, regulate, or otherwiseassociated with, the sensed physical phenomenon. For example, the logic173 may respond to a temperature sensor data by activating a heater or acooler to change the measured temperature at that location. In onenon-limiting example, a set-point or a reference value is defined whichis (directly or indirectly) measured or sensed by one or more sensors,and the control loop is active to command the actuators to reach theset-point as measured by the sensors. The control loop may be a linearproportional only control loop, wherein the amount of the actuatorcontrol is proportional to the calculated deviation from a set-point, aPI (Proportional Integral) control, a Bistable control, a Hystereticcontrol, or a PID (Proportional, Integral and Derivative) control loopwherein the amount of the actuator command is calculated based onproportional, integral and derivative computations of the calculateddeviation. Alternatively or in addition, the PID control loop may bebased on the publication: “PID Control System Analysis, Design, andTechnology” by Kiam Heong Ang, Gregory Chong, and Yun Li, published IEEETransaction on Control System Technology, Vol. 13 No. 4, July 2005 (pp.559-576), which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein.

Alternatively or in addition, the controller may employ a bang-bangcontrol (a.k.a. on-off control), where one or more of the actuators maybe only in two states, turned fully ON or turned fully OFF. Further, asensor may be a switch-based sensor, having two states as well. Forexample, a thermostat is a simple negative-feedback control: when thetemperature (the “process variable” or PV) goes below a set point (SP),the heater is switched on. Another example could be a pressure switch onan air compressor: when the pressure (PV) drops below the threshold(SP), the pump is powered. Refrigerators and vacuum pumps containsimilar mechanisms operating in reverse, but still providing negativefeedback to correct errors. A practical on-off control system isdesigned to include a hysteresis, usually in the form of an adjustableor programmable deadband, a region around the setpoint value in which nocontrol action occurs.

The term ‘random’ herein is intended to cover not only pure random,non-deterministically generated signals, but also pseudo-random,deterministic signals such as the output of a shift-register arrangementprovided with a feedback circuit as used to generate pseudo-randombinary signals or as scramblers, and chaotic signals.

The system operation may involve randomness. For example, the controllogic may use randomness in order to avoid predictability, or for havinga statistical-based advantage. Randomness is commonly implemented byusing random numbers, defined as a sequence of numbers or symbols thatlack any pattern and thus appear random, are often generated by a randomnumber generator, which may be included in one or more field units, inthe router or gateway, or in the control server. A random numbergenerator (having either analog or digital output) can be hardwarebased, using a physical process such as thermal noise, shot noise,nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric effect or other quantumphenomena. Alternatively, or in addition, the generation of the randomnumbers can be software based, using a processor executing an algorithmfor generating pseudo-random numbers which approximates the propertiesof random numbers. Such algorithm may be executed by a dedicatedprocessor and firmware (or software), or may be integrated into one ormore of the field units, in the router or gateway, or in the controlserver. Non-limiting examples of pseudo-random numbers generators aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,761 to Patel et al. entitled: “Methodfor Generating Pseudo-Random Numbers”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,512,645 toPitz et al. entitled: “System and Method for Generating PseudorandomNumbers”, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0044119 toLangin-Hooper et al. entitled: “Pseudo-Random Number Generator”, and inU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0263117 to Rose et al.entitled: “Initial Seed Management for Pseudorandom Number Generator”,which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein.

The random signal generator may be hardware based, using a physicalprocess such as thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation,photoelectric effect or other quantum phenomena, or can be softwarebased, using a processor executing an algorithm for generatingpseudo-random numbers which approximates the properties of randomnumbers. A non-limiting example of random number generators is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,157 to Ikake entitled: “Random Number Generator”,in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,176 to Schulz entitled: “Random Number GeneratorCircuit”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,884 to Brown et al. entitled: “RandomNumber Generator with Digital Feedback”, and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,145,933to Szajnowski entitled: “Method and Apparatus for generating Randomsignals”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein. The digital random signal generator may bebased on ‘True Random Number Generation IC RPG100/RPG100B’ availablefrom FDK Corporation and described in the data sheet ‘Physical Randomnumber generator RPG100.RPG100B’ REV. 08 publication numberHM-RAE106-0812, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein.

The controller, the control logic, or the system operation may be basedon, or involves, a fuzzy control, which is typically based on fuzzylogic. In fuzzy logic, the logical variables that take on continuousvalues between 0 and 1, in contrast to classical or digital logic, whichoperates on discrete values of either 1 or 0 (true or falserespectively). The fuzzy logic has the advantage that the solution tothe problem can be cast in terms that human operators can understand, sothat their experience can be used in the design of the controller. Thismakes it easier to mechanize tasks that are already successfullyperformed by humans. Further, fuzzy logic is able to process incompletedata and provide approximate solutions to problems other methods finddifficult to solve. The fuzzy logic or the fuzzy control may be inaccordance with, or based on, the publication entitled: “Introduction toFuzzy Control” by Marcelo Godoy Simoes, or the publication entitled:“Fuzzy Logic in Embedded Microcomputers and Control Systems” by WalterBanks and Gordon Hayward, published by the Byte Craft Limited, which areall incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

Alternatively or in addition, the control loop implementation may bebased on, or be according to, the book entitled: “Sensors and ControlSystems in manufacturing”, Second Edition 2010, by Sabrie Soloman, TheMcGraw-Hill Companies, ISBN: 978-0-07-160573-1, or according to the bookentitled: “Fundamentals of Industrial Instrumentation and ProcessControl”, by William C. Dunn, 2005, The McGraw-Hill Companies, ISBN:0-07-145735-6, which are incorporated in their entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein.

The control loop may use a single fixed-value setpoint. Alternatively oraddition, multiple setpoint values may be available as continuous ordiscrete values, to be selected by a human, which may be a tenant in thebuilding. Further, a setpoint may be automatically set, such as beingchanged according to a pre-configured scheme. In one example, the valueof the setpoint may be time dependent. For example, a first value may beautomatically applied during day time, and a second value may be usedduring the night time. Similarly, a value of a setpoint may be dependentupon, and may be automatically changed or updated, based on TOD(Time-of-Day), day of the week, the month, the year and so forth. Insuch a case, the system may comprise hardware- or software-based timer,or may use an external timing source or signal for changing or selectingthe setpoint value. Using multiple setpoint values is described forexample in U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,070 to Grossmann et al. entitled: “Methodand Device for Controlling an Actuator”, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one example, a setpoint affecting a control loop having a sensor (orsensors) and actuator (or actuators) for controlling a phenomenon, isselected by the control logic based on a sensor data that is not part ofthe control loop, and is not directly sensing or measuring thecontrolled phenomenon. For example, a temperature control system mayhave a low setpoint value such as 15° C. where there is no person in thebuilding (or in a room) in order to preserve electricity or energy, andmay have another setpoint value such as 25° C. when there is a person inthe building (or in the room). An occupancy sensor, which is not partHVAC control loop including a thermostat and a heater, may be used todetect the presence of a person in the house, and then the control logicmay automatically change the setpoint to the higher and more comfortabletemperature. An example of adjusting a setpoint based on the state ofoccupancy is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,180,492 to Steinberg entitled:“System and Method for Using a Networked Electronic Device as anOccupancy Sensor for an Energy Management System”, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one non-limiting example, one (or more) of the sensors in one or moreof the field units may be, or may include, an image sensor, such as thesensor unit 50 f shown in FIG. 5f . In such a case, information in thecaptured image may be extracted and used as part of the control loop. Inone example, the field unit may include, be part of, or be integratedwith, a digital camera. The digital camera may be a still cameraprimarily used to take photographs, or may be a video camera where video(and commonly audio) is captured and stored. Some digital cameras cancapture and store both still and video images. The digital camera may beportable or may be fixed, such as in most surveillance applications.

The digital camera (or the field unit including an image sensor) maycommunicate the captured still image or video to the router (or otherfield units) via wireless communication. Digital cameras utilizingwireless communication are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,243 toTullis entitled: “Wireless Hand-Held Digital Camera”, U.S. Pat. No.6,552,743 to Rissman entitled: “Digital Camera-Ready Printer”, U.S. Pat.No. 6,788,332 to Cook entitled: “Wireless Imaging Device and System”,and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,159 to Parulski et al. entitled: “ElectronicCamera System with Programmable Transmission Capability”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. A display system and method utilizing a cellular telephonehaving digital camera capability and a television linked directly over aUWB wireless signal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,327,385 to Yamaguchientitled: “Home Picture/Video Display System with Ultra Wide-BandTechnology”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes asif fully set forth herein. In one embodiment, a WirelessHD standardbased wireless communication is employed, which is based on the 7 GHz ofcontinuous bandwidth around the 60 GHz radio frequency and allows foruncompressed, digital transmission.

The digital camera (or the field unit including an image sensor) may beconnected via a conductive coupling (e.g., cable) to the router or toother field units. A tethered portable electronic camera connectable toa computer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,170 to Parulski et al.entitled: “Hand-Manipulated Electronic Camera Tethered to a PersonalComputer”. A digital electronic camera which can accept various types ofinput/output cards or memory cards is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,432,952 to Fukuoka entitled: “Digital Image Capturing Device having anInterface for Receiving a Control Program”, and the use of a disk driveassembly for transferring images out of an electronic camera isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,459 to Roberts et al., entitled:“Electronic Still Video Camera with Direct Personal Computer (PC)Compatible Digital Format Output”, which are both incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The connection of an image sensor unit (either a digital camera or afield unit) may be based on a standard video connection. In this case,the modem 64 and the associated connector are adapted to output thisstandard video signal. Such analog interfaces can be composite videosuch as NTSC, PAL or SECAM formats. Similarly, analog RGB, VGA (VideoGraphics Array), SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), SCART, S-video andother standard analog interfaces can be used. In case of a cableconnection, the connector may be implemented as suitable standard analogvideo connector. For example, F-Type, BNC (Bayonet Neill-Concelman),RCA, and similar RF/coax connectors can be used. In one non-limitingexample, the modem 64 and the related connector 65 b are adapted tosupport the digital video interface. In one example, an IEEE1394interface, also known as FireWire™, is used. Other digital interfacesthat may be used are USB, SDI (Serial Digital Interface), FireWire, HDMI(High-Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface),UDI (Unified Display Interface), DisplayPort, Digital Component Videoand DVB (Digital Video Broadcast).

In the case of image capturing application, the controller functionality147 may consist of, or include part or whole, of the flow chart 180shown in FIG. 18. At step ‘Receive Image Data’ 181, image data sent fromone or more image sensors (which are part of one or more field units) isreceived at the controller location. The image sensor information ischecked, processed, conditioned, or otherwise manipulated in step ‘ImageProcessing’ 182. The image processing in this step may include frequencyrelated manipulation such as filtering, spectrum analysis or noiseremoval, smoothing or de-blurring in case of image enhancement, acompressor (or de-compressor) or a coder (or decoder) in case ofcompression or coding/decoding, a modulator or a demodulator in case ormodulation, and an extractor for extracting or detecting a feature orparameter such as pattern recognition or correlation analysis. In onenon-limiting example, a decompression is performed in order to restorethe original pre-compressed image, before the video compression such asin the video compressor 505 in the field unit 50 f shown in FIG. 5 f.

Other image processing functions may include adjusting color balance,gamma and luminance, filtering pattern noise, filtering noise usingWiener filter, changing zoom factors, recropping, applying enhancementfilters, applying smoothing filters, applying subject-dependent filters,and applying coordinate transformations. Other enhancements in the imagedata may include applying mathematical algorithms to generate greaterpixel density or adjusting color balance, contrast and/or luminance.

The ‘Image Processing’ step 182 may further include a face detection(also known as face localization), which includes an algorithm foridentifying a group of pixels within a digitally-acquired image thatrelates to the existence, locations and sizes of human faces. Commonface-detection algorithms focused on the detection of frontal humanfaces, and other algorithms attempt to solve the more general anddifficult problem of multi-view face detection. That is, the detectionof faces that are either rotated along the axis from the face of theobserver (in-plane rotation), or rotated along the vertical orleft-right axis (out-of-plane rotation), or both. Various face-detectiontechniques and devices (e.g., cameras) having face detection featuresare disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,138 to Smith et al., entitled:“Facial Image Processing”, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,154 to Gibbon et al.,entitled: “Method and Means for Detecting People in Image Sequences”, inU.S. Pat. No. 6,128,397 to Baluja et al., entitled: “Method for FindingAll Frontal Faces in Arbitrarily Complex Visual Scenes”, in U.S. Pat.No. 6,188,777 to Darrell et al., entitled: “Method and Apparatus forPersonnel Detection and Tracking”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,317 to Luo etal., entitled: “Method for Automatic Determination of Main Subjects inPhotographic Images”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,370 to Steffens et al.,entitled: “Face Recognition from Video Images”, in U.S. Pat. No.6,332,033 to Qian entitled: “System for Detecting Skin-Tone Regionswithin an Image”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,404,900 to Qian et al., entitled:“Method for Robust Human Face Tracking in Presence of Multiple Persons”,in U.S. Pat. No. 6,407,777 to DeLuca entitled: “Red-Eye Filter Methodand Apparatus”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,508,961 to Chen et al., entitled:“Method and System for Face Detection in Digital Images”, in U.S. Pat.No. 7,317,815 to Steinberg et al., entitled: “Digital Image ProcessingComposition Using Face Detection Information”, in U.S. Pat. No.7,315,630 to Steinberg et al., entitled: “Perfecting a Digital ImageRendering Parameters within Rendering Devices using Face Detection”, inU.S. Pat. No. 7,110,575 to Chen et al., entitled: “Method for LocatingFaces in Digital Color Images”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,161 to Yanentitled: “System and Method for Biometrics-Based Facial FeatureExtraction”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,154 to Parulski et al., entitled:“Image Revising Camera and Method”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,942 to Honget al., entitled: “Method and Apparatus for Detecting a Face-Like Regionand Observer Tracking Display”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,501,857 to Gotsman etal., entitled: “Method and System for Detecting and Classifying Objectsin an Image”, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,199 to Gilman et al., entitled:“Correcting Exposure and Tone Scale of Digital Images Captured by anImage Capture Device”, which are all incorporated in their entirety forall purposes as if fully set forth herein. Another camera with humanface detection means is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,545 to Ray etal., entitled: “Face Detecting Camera and Method”, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The imageprocessing may use algorithms and techniques described in the bookentitled: “The Image Processing Handbook”, Sixth Edition, by John C.Russ, from CRC Press ISBN: 978-1-4398-4063-4, as well as algorithms andtechniques described in U.S. Pat. Nos. RE 33,682, RE 31,370, 4,047,187,4,317,991, 4,367,027, 4,638,364, 5,291,234, 5,386,103, 5,488,429,5,638,136, 5,642,431, 5,710,833, 5,724,456, 5,781,650, 5,812,193,5,818,975, 5,835,616, 5,870,138, 5,978,519, 5,991,456, 6,097,470,6,101,271, 6,148,092, 6,151,073, 6,192,149, 6,249,315, 6,263,113,6,268,939, 6,393,148, 6,421,468, 6,438,264, 6,456,732, 6,459,436,6,504,951, 7,466,866 and 7,508,961, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The ‘Image Processing’ step 182 may further include an algorithm formotion detection by comparing the current image with a reference imageand counting the number of different pixels, where the image sensor orthe digital camera are assumed to be in a fixed location and thusassumed to capture the same image. Since images will naturally differdue to factors such as varying lighting, camera flicker, and CCD darkcurrents, pre-processing is useful to reduce the number of falsepositive alarms. More complex algorithms are necessary to detect motionwhen the camera itself is moving, or when the motion of a specificobject must be detected in a field containing other movement which canbe ignored.

The image processing may further include video enhancement such as videodenoising, image stabilization, unsharp masking, and super-resolution.Further, the image processing may include a Video Content Analysis(VCA), where the video content is analyzed to detect and determinetemporal events based on multiple images, and is commonly used forentertainment, healthcare, retail, automotive, transport, homeautomation, safety and security. VCA functionalities include VideoMotion Detection (VMD), video tracking, and egomotion estimation, aswell as identification, behavior analysis and other forms of situationawareness. A dynamic masking functionality involves the blocking a partof the video signal based on the signal itself, for example because ofprivacy concerns. An egomotion estimation functionality involves thedetermining of the location of a camera or estimating the camera motionrelative to a rigid scene, by analyzing its output signal. Motiondetection is used to determine the presence of a relevant motion in theobserved scene, while object detection is used to determine the presenceof a type of object or entity, for example a person or car, as well asfire and smoke detection. Similarly, Face recognition and AutomaticNumber Plate Recognition may be used to recognize, and thereforepossibly identify persons or cars. Tamper detection is used to determinewhether the camera or the output signal is tampered with, and videotracking is used to determine the location of persons or objects in thevideo signal, possibly with regard to an external reference grid. Apattern is defined as any form in an image having discerniblecharacteristics that provide a distinctive identity when contrasted withother forms. Pattern recognition may also be used, for ascertainingdifferences, as well as similarities, between patterns under observationand partitioning the patterns into appropriate categories based on theseperceived differences and similarities; and may include any procedurefor correctly identifying a discrete pattern, such as an alphanumericcharacter, as a member of a predefined pattern category. Further, thevideo or image processing may use, or be based on, the algorithms andtechniques disclosed in the book entitled:“Handbook of Image & VideoProcessing”, edited by Al Bovik, by Academic Press ISBN: 0-12-119790-5,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

In one example, the image processing may be used for non-verbal humancontrol of the system, such as by hand posture or gesture recognition,typically involving movement of the hands, face, or other parts of thehuman body. The recognized hand posture or gesture is used as input bythe control logic in the controller, and thus enables humans tointerface with the machine (HMI) and interact naturally without anymechanical devices, and thus to impact the system operation and theactuators commands and operation. The image-based recognition may use asingle camera, or may be based on a 3D representation, captured by 3-Dstereo cameras that is using two cameras whose relations to one anotherare known, or alternatively by a depth-aware camera. The gesturerecognition may be based on 3-D information of key elements of the bodyparts in order to obtain several important parameters, like palmposition or joint angles, or alternatively (or in addition) may beappearance-based, where images or videos are used for directinterpretation.

The 3D model approach can use volumetric or skeletal models, or acombination of the two. Skeletal-based algorithms are based on using asimplified version of joint angle parameters along with segment lengths,known as a skeletal representation of the body, where a virtual skeletonof the person is computed and parts of the body are mapped to certainsegments. The analysis is using the position and orientation of thesesegments and the relation between each one of them (for example theangle between the joints and the relative position or orientation).Appearance-based models derive the parameters directly from the imagesor videos using a template database. Some are based on the deformable 2Dtemplates of the human parts of the body, particularly hands. Deformabletemplates are sets of points on the outline of an object, used asinterpolation nodes for the object's outline approximation. Theinterpolation function may be linear, which performs an average shapefrom point sets, point variability parameters and external deformators.These template-based models are mostly used for hand-tracking, but couldalso be of use for simple gesture classification. A second approach ingesture detecting using appearance-based models uses image sequences asgesture templates. Parameters for this method are either the imagesthemselves, or certain features derived from these, using only one(monoscopic) or two (stereoscopic) views. The technology, algorithm ortechniques used for hand posture or gesture recognition may be based onthe Brown University publication CS-99-11 entitled: “A survey of handPosture and Gesture Recognition Techniques and Technology”, by Joseph J.LaViola Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,952 to Kramer et al., entitled:“Communication System for Deaf, Deaf-Blind, or non-Vocal IndividualsUsing Instrumented Glove”, U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,537 to Grimes, entitled:“Digital data Entry Glove Interface Device”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,702,130 toSung-Ho Im et al., entitled: “User interface apparatus using handgesture recognition and method thereof”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,598,942 toUnderkoffler et al., entitled: “System and Method for Gesture BasedControl System”, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0222726 toRuan, entitled: “Gesture Recognition Apparatus, Method for ControllingGesture Recognition Apparatus, and Control Program”,”, U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2010/0211918 to Liang et al., entitled: “WebCam Based User Interaction”, U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2007/0132725 to Kituara, entitled: “Electronic Appliance”, U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2012/0268373 to Grzesiak, entitled: “Methodfor Recognizing User's Gesture in Electronic Device”, U.S. Pat. No.5,652,849 to Conway et al., entitled: “Apparatus and Method for RemoteControl Using a Visual Information Stream”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,645 toYamamoto et al., entitled: “Hand Pattern Switch Device”, U.S. Pat. No.7,821,541 to Delean, entitled: “Remote Control Apparatus Using GestureRecognition”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,043 to Freeman, entitled: “Dynamic andStatic Hand Gesture Recognition Through Low-Level Image Analysis”, orU.S. Pat. No. 5,046,022 to Conway et al., entitled: “Tele-AutonomousSystem and Method Employing Time/Position Synchrony/Desynchrony”, whichare all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

In one non-limiting example, the control may be based on extracting thelocation of an indentified element in the captured image. The elementmay be a human body part such as face, hand, and body contour. Exampleof a control systems which are based on the location of a human being byanalyzing the human face location are described in U.S. Pat. No.6,931,596 to Gutta et al., entitled: “Automatic Positioning of DisplayDepending upon the Viewer's Location” and in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2010/0295782 to Binder, entitled: “System and Method forControl Based on Face or Hand Gesture Detection”, both incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Further,the control may be based on the number of identified elements in acaptured image. For example, the number of human beings in a locationmay be determined by using image processing, such as face detectionalgorithms.

Any image processing functionality may be performed only as part of the‘Image Processing’ step 182 executed as part of the controllerfunctionality 147. Alternatively, an image processing functionality maybe performed only as part of the Image Processor 504 in the field unit50 f shown in FIG. 5f . Further, an image processing functionality maybe split between the field unit 50 f and the ‘Image Processing’ step 182of the controller 147. In another non-limiting example, some imageprocessing functionality may be split between the field unit 50 f andthe controller 147, where some functionalities will be executed (inwhole or in part) in the field unit 50 f, while other functionalitieswill be executed (in whole or in part) as part of the flow chart 180 aspart of the controller 147.

The information extracted from the received image serves as input to thestep ‘Logic’ 183, determining the output based on the sensors inputaccording to a pre-determined logic function or algorithm. The ‘Logic’step 183 may be identical, similar or different from the corresponding‘Logic’ step 173 of the flowchart 170. The control logic executed instep ‘Logic’ 183 outputs various actuators commands, which areconditioned in the ‘Actuator Conditioning’ step 174, for properoperation of the specific actuators. The conditioning may includeattenuation, delay, filtering, amplifying, time integration, derivation,and any other data manipulations as described above regarding the‘Sensor Conditioning’ step 172. The conditioned control commands aresent to the relevant actuators in the applicable field units in the step‘Send Actuator Command’ 175. While the flowchart 180 is exampledincluding both receiving data from sensors and activating actuators, acontroller 143 may only receive data from various image sensors in thefield units (e.g., for logging purposes) while not activating anyactuators, or only transmit commands to various actuators in the fieldunits (e.g., according to time) regardless of any sensing information,or any combination thereof. Further, a controller 143 may use variouscontrol logic patterns at different times, where at one time thecontroller only receives data from the image sensors, at another timethe controller only transmit commands to the actuators, and yet atanother time the controller does both functions. In one non-limitingexample, the actuators are Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) electric motors ofthe digital camera, and the commands are used to position the imagesensor and the focus in order to obtain an image of a specific locationor target.

In one non-limiting example, the information extracted from the capturedimage as part of the ‘Image Processing’ step 182, detect an event thatmay impact the system operation. For example, in the case of an imageprocessing that includes a face detection function, the first detectionof a face is an event that may trigger one or more actuators into action(or to stop an activity) by the control logic. Similarly, the lack ofdetection of a human face may cause activation or deactivation of one ormore actuators in the systems. Similarly, detection of a motion by theimage processing may trigger actuators for an action, or may deactivateactuators, according to a pre-defined logic.

While flowchart 180 in FIG. 18 was described above where the sensors areimage sensors only, additional sensors may be equally used in thecontrol system. In such a case, the general flowchart 170 and theimage-based flow chart 180 are integrated, and the combined ‘Logic’ step173 uses both the non-related image sensor data (after conditioning in‘Sensor Conditioning’ step 172) and the image extracted data (after the‘Image Processing’ step 182), to determine the output and the commandsto be sent to the actuators.

In one non-limiting example, one (or more) of the sensors in one or moreof the field units may be, or may include, a sound or voice sensor, suchas a microphone. In such a case, information in the captured voice maybe extracted and used as part of the control loop. In one non-limitingexample, the field unit may include, be part of, or be integrated with,a telephone.

In the case of voice capturing application, the controller functionality147 may consist of, or include part or whole, of the flow chart 190shown in FIG. 19. At step ‘Receive Voice Data’ 191, voice data sent fromone or more microphones (which are part of one or more field units) isreceived at the controller location. The voice data is checked,processed, conditioned, or otherwise manipulated in step ‘VoiceProcessing’ 192. The voice processing in this step may include frequencyrelated manipulation such as filtering, spectrum analysis or noiseremoval, a compressor (or de-compressor) or a coder (or decoder) in caseof compression or coding/decoding, a modulator or a demodulator in caseor modulation, and an extractor for extracting or detecting a feature orparameter such as pattern recognition or correlation analysis. In onenon-limiting example, a decompression is performed in order to restorethe original pre-compressed voice, before the voice compression executedin the field unit. The ‘Voice Processing’ step 192 may further include avoice recognition, which includes an algorithm for identifying the voiceof a specific person.

Any voice processing functionality may be performed only as part of the‘Voice Processing’ step 192 executed as part of the controllerfunctionality 147. Alternatively or in addition, a voice processingfunctionality may be performed as part of the field unit. Further, animage processing functionality may be split between the field unit andthe ‘Voice Processing’ step 192 of the controller 147. In anotherexample, some voice processing functionality may be split between thefield unit and the controller 147, where some functionalities will beexecuted (in whole or in part) in the field unit, while otherfunctionalities will be executed (in whole or in part) as part of theflow chart 190 as part of the controller 147.

The information extracted from the received voice serves as input to thestep ‘Logic’ 193, determining the output based on the sensors inputaccording to a pre-determined logic function or algorithm. The ‘Logic’step 193 may be identical, similar or different from the corresponding‘Logic’ step 173 of the flowchart 170. The control logic executed instep ‘Logic’ 193 outputs various actuators commands, which areconditioned in the ‘Actuator Conditioning’ step 174, for properoperation of the specific actuators. The conditioning may includeattenuation, delay, filtering, amplifying, time integration, derivation,and any other data manipulations as described above regarding the‘Sensor Conditioning’ step 172. The conditioned control commands aresent to the relevant actuators in the applicable field units in the step‘Send Actuator Command’ 175. While the flowchart 190 is exampledincluding both receiving data from sensors and activating actuators, acontroller 143 may only receive data from various voice or sound sensorsin the field units (e.g., for logging purposes) while not activating anyactuators, or only transmit commands to various actuators in the fieldunits (e.g., according to time) regardless of any sensing information,or any combination thereof. Further, a controller 143 may use variouscontrol logic patterns at different times, where at one time thecontroller only receives data from the voice sensors, at another timethe controller only transmit commands to the actuators, and yet atanother time the controller does both functions.

In one non-limiting example, the information extracted from the capturedvoice as part of the ‘Voice Processing’ step 192, detect an event thatmay impact the system operation. For example, in the case of a voiceprocessing that includes a voice recognition function, the detection ofa specific human voice is an event that may trigger one or moreactuators into action (or to stop an activity) by the control logic.Similarly, the lack of detection of a human voice may cause activationor deactivation of one or more actuators in the systems.

While flowchart 190 in FIG. 19 was described above where the sensors areonly voice sensors, additional sensors may be equally used in thecontrol system. In such a case, the general flowchart 170 and thevoice-based flow chart 190 are integrated, and the combined ‘Logic’ step173 uses both the non-related voice sensor data (after conditioning in‘Sensor Conditioning’ step 172) and the voice extracted data (after the‘Voice Processing’ step 192), to determine the output and the commandsto be sent to the actuators.

A field unit (such as field unit 23 in FIG. 2, sensor unit 50-50 e inFIGS. 5-5 e, or actuator unit 60-60 g in FIGS. 6-60, may be integrated,in part or in whole, in a router such as router 143 (corresponding forexample to router 12 in FIG. 2, router 40 in FIG. 4, gateway 11 in FIG.1, or router 40 a in FIGS. 4a-4d ). Alternatively or in addition, arouter such as router 143 (corresponding for example to router 12 inFIG. 2, router 40 in FIG. 4, gateway 11 in FIG. 1, or router 40 a inFIGS. 4a-4d ) may be integrated, in part or in whole, in an appliancesuch as a home appliance. Further, a field unit (such as field unit 23in FIG. 2, sensor unit 50-50 e in FIGS. 5-5 e, or actuator unit 60-60 gin FIGS. 6-60, may be integrated, in part or in whole, in an appliancesuch as a home appliance. In such a case, the sensors or the actuators(or both) of the appliance, may serve as the sensors or actuators of thefield unit, and handled as described herein. Home appliances areelectrical and mechanical devices using technology for household use,such as food handling, cleaning, clothes handling, or environmentalcontrol. Appliances are commonly used in household, institutional,commercial or industrial setting, for accomplishing routine housekeepingtasks, and are typically electrically powered. The appliance may be amajor appliance, also known as “White Goods”, which is commonly large,difficult to move, and generally to some extent fixed in place (usuallyon the floor or mounted on a wall or ceiling), and is electricallypowered from the AC power (mains) grid. Non-limiting examples of majorappliances are washing machines, clothes dryers, dehumidifiers,conventional ovens, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, air-conditioners,trash compactors, furnaces, dishwasher, water heaters, microwave ovensand induction cookers. The appliance may be a small appliance, alsoknown as “Brown Goods”, which is commonly a small home appliance that isportable or semi-portable, and is typically a tabletop or a coutertoptype. Examples of small appliances are television sets, CD and DVDplayers, HiFi and home cinema systems, telephone sets and answeringmachines, and beverage making devices such as coffee-makers and iced-teamakers.

Some appliances main function is food storage, commonly refrigerationrelated appliances such as refrigerators and freezers. Other appliancesmain function is food preparation, such as conventional ovens (stoves)or microwave ovens, electric mixers, food processors, and electric foodblenders, as well as beverage makers such as coffee-makers and iced-teamakers. Few food related appliances, commonly found in a home kitchen,are illustrated in FIG. 12, showing a dishwasher 121, a food processor122, a refrigerator 123, an oven 124, a mixer 125, and a microwave oven126. Some appliances main function relates to cleaning, such as clothescleaning. Clothes cleaning appliances examples are washing/laundrymachines and clothes dryers. A vacuum cleaner is an appliance used tosuck up dust and dirt, usually from floors and other surfaces. Fewcleaning-related appliances are illustrated in FIG. 12a , showing avacuum cleaner 127, a cloth dryer 128 and a washing machine 129, as wellas a still digital camera 1210 and a digital video camera 1211. Someappliances main function relates to temperature control, such as heatingand cooling. Air conditioners and heaters, as well as HVAC (Heating,Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems, are commonly used for climatecontrol, usually for thermal comfort for occupants of buildings or otherenclosures. Similarly, water heaters are used for heating water.

The system may be used for lighting control, moisture control, freezecontrol, pet feeding, propane gauge, interior and exterior cameras,security, smoke alarms, or health monitoring. In one non-limitingexample, a field unit may be integrated with a smoke detector assembly,which is typically housed in a disk-shaped plastic enclosure, which maybe about 150 millimeters (6 inch) in diameter and 25 millimeters (1inch) thick, and is commonly mounted on a ceiling or on a wall.

The system may be used for building automation, or may be part of,integrated with, or coupled to a building automation system, such as thebuilding automation system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,967,565 toLingemann entitled: “Building Automation System”, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A fieldunit, a sensor, or an actuator in the system may be part of, integratedwith, coupled to, or used to control indoor or outdoor lighting, fans,sprinklers, pool/spa heaters and pumps, electronic drapes, windowareunits, fireplaces, garage doors openers, electronic door locks, hotwater heaters, fire detection and monitoring equipment, electronicgates, digital security cameras, motion sensors, flood monitors,humidifiers, home theater units, phone PBX, voice mail, intercom, doorphone, aquarium sensors and heaters, sidewalk and driveway heaters,sprinklers, dampers, doorbells, lighting fixtures and fans. The systemmay further support, be part of, or be integrated with, a BuildingAutomation System (BAS) standard, and may further be in part or in fullin accordance with Cisco Validated Design document entitled: BuildingAutomation System over IP (BAS/IP) Design and Implementation Guide” byCisco Systems and Johnson Controls, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The system may be used for Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), enablingmonitoring of patients outside of conventional clinical settings (e.g.,in their home), which may increase access to care and decreasehealthcare delivery costs. The monitoring and trend analysis ofphysiological parameters, enable early detection of deterioration;thereby, reducing number of emergency department visits,hospitalizations, and duration of hospital stays. Physiological datasuch as blood pressure and subjective patient data are collected bysensors on peripheral devices such as blood pressure cuff, pulseoximeter, and glucometer. The data is transmitted to healthcareproviders or third parties via various networks, and may be evaluatedfor potential problems by a healthcare professional or via a clinicaldecision support algorithm, and patient, caregivers, and healthproviders are immediately alerted if a problem is detected. As a result,timely intervention ensures positive patient outcomes. Otherapplications may provide education, test, and medication reminder alert,and may include Telesurgery (remote surgery), enabling medical doctorsto perform surgery on a patient being physically at another location,Teleaudiology for providing audiological services, Teledentistry forremote dental care, consultation, education, or awareness,Teledermatology for exchanging information concerning skin conditions ortumors of the skin, Telepathology fort practicing pathology at adistance, Teleradiology for imaging and sending radiographic images, andTelecardiology where ECGs are transmitted for remote evaluation.

The term “outlet” herein denotes an electro-mechanical device, whichfacilitates easy, rapid connection and disconnection of external devicesto and from wiring installed within a building. An outlet commonly has afixed connection to the wiring, and permits the easy connection ofexternal devices as desired, commonly by means of an integrated standardconnector in a faceplate. The outlet is normally mechanically attachedto, or mounted in, a wall or similar surface. Non-limiting examples ofcommon outlets include: telephone outlets for connecting telephones andrelated devices; CATV outlets for connecting television sets, VCR's, andthe like; outlets used as part of LAN wiring (i.e. “structured wiring”)and electrical outlets for connecting power to electrical appliances.The term “wall” herein denotes any interior or exterior surface of abuilding, including, but not limited to, ceilings and floors, inaddition to vertical walls. The term “building” herein includes anysite, location, premises, or structure with a roof and walls, such as ahouse, school, store, or factory, including, without limitation,residential house, apartments, trailers, motor homes, offices, andbusinesses.

Outlets in general (to include LAN structured wiring, electrical poweroutlets, telephone outlets, and cable television outlets) are typicallypassive devices being part of the wiring system house infrastructure andsolely serving the purpose of providing access to the in-wall wiring.However, there is a trend toward embedding active circuitry in theoutlet in order to use them as part of the home/office network, andtypically to provide a standard data communication interface. In mostcases, the circuits added serve the purpose of adding data interfaceconnectivity to the outlet, added to its basic passive connectivityfunction.

An outlet supporting both telephony and data interfaces for use withtelephone wiring is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,616 to Binderentitled ‘Telephone outlet for implementing a local area network overtelephone lines and a local area network using such outlets’, and inU.S. Pat. No. 6,216,160 to Dichter entitled ‘Automatically configurablecomputer network’, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein. A non-limiting example of homenetworking over CATV coaxial cables using outlets is described in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0194383 to Cohen et al.entitled: ‘Cableran Networking over Coaxial Cables’, which isincorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. Such outlets are available as part of HomeRAN™ system from TMTLtd. of Jerusalem, Israel. Outlets for use in conjunction with wiringcarrying telephony, data and entertainment signals are disclosed in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0099228 to Alcock entitled‘Local area and multimedia network using radio frequency and coaxialcable’, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein. Outlets for use with combined data and powerusing powerlines are described in U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2003/0062990 to Schaeffer et al. entitled ‘Powerline bridgeapparatus’, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein. Such power outlets are available as part ofPlugLAN™ by Asoka USA Corporation of San Carlos, Calif. USA.

While the active outlets have been described above with regard tonetworks formed over wiring used for basic services (e.g., telephone,CATV and power), it will be appreciated that the principle can beequally applied to outlets used in networks using dedicated wiring. Insuch a case, the outlet circuitry is used to provide additionalinterfaces to an outlet, beyond the basic service of single dataconnectivity interface. As a non-limiting example, it may be used toprovide multiple data interfaces wherein the wiring supports single suchdata connection. An example of such an outlet is the Network Jack™product family manufactured by 3Com™ of Santa-Clara, Calif., U.S.A. Inaddition, such outlets are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,331 toThompson entitled ‘Single Medium Wiring Scheme for Multiple SignalDistribution in Building and Access Port Therefor’, in U.S. PatentApplication No. 2003/0112965 to McNamara et al. entitled ‘Active WallOutlet’, and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0010954 toBinder entitled: “Modular Outlet”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

One approach to adding functionality to existing outlets is by using aplug-in module. Such plug-in modules are described in U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0039388 to Smart et al. entitled ‘Highdata-rate powerline network system and method’, U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2002/0060617 to Walbeck et al. entitled ‘Modular powerline network adapter’, and also in U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2003/0062990 to Schaeffer, J R et al. entitled ‘Powerline bridgeapparatus’, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein. Such modules using HomePlug™technology are available from multiple sources such as part of PlugLink™products by Asoka USA Corporation of San Carlos, Calif., U.S.A.(HomePlug is a trademark of HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. of SanRamon, Calif., U.S.A.). Various types of snap-on devices are alsodescribed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0010954, and in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0180561 to Hazani, et al.entitled: “Outlet Add-On module”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A non-limitingexample of a server-based automation system using outlets is describedin U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0125083 to Kikoentitled: “Automation Apparatus and Methods”, which is incorporated inits entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one non-limiting example, a sensor, an actuator, one or more fieldunits, or the router are integrated with, or are part of, an outlet or aplug-in module. The outlet may be telephone, LAN (such as StructuredWiring based on Category 5, 6 or 7 wiring), AC power or CATV outlet. Thefield unit or the router may further communicate over the in-wall wiringconnected to the outlet, such as telephone, AC power, LAN or CATVwiring. Further, the outlet associated sensor, actuator, one or morefield units, or router may be powered from a power signal carried overthe in-wall wiring, and may further communicate using the in-wall wiringas a network medium. For example, in the case of telephone wiring andtelephone outlet, the powering may be carried over the telephone wirepair using the technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,353 to Rabenkoet al. entitled: “System and Method for Providing Power over a HomePhone Line Network”, which teaches carrying AC power over telephonewiring carrying both telephony and data, by using a part of the spectrumnot used by the other signals, or be based on U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2004/0151305 to Binder, et al. entitled: “Method andSystem for Providing DC Power on Local Telephone Lines”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

The system may be used for assistive domotics applications of homeautomation, making it possible for the elderly and disabled to remain athome, rather than moving to a healthcare facility, such as embeddedhealth systems and private health networks. Embedded health systemsintegrate sensors and computers/microprocessors in appliances,furniture, and clothing for collecting data that is analyzed and can beused to diagnose diseases and recognize risk patterns. Private healthnetworks typically implement wireless technology to connect portabledevices and store data in a household health database. The system mayprovide both the elderly and disabled with many different types ofemergency assistance systems, security features, fall prevention,automated timers, and alerts. The system may further allow for theindividual to feel secure in their homes knowing that help is onlyminutes away, as well as making it possible for family members tomonitor their loved ones from anywhere via an internet or otherconnection. The system may track the individual person location withinthe home, and may detect water on the floor, as well as a camera thatallows the person to view who is at the door and let them in using acell phone. The system may include devices worn around the neck orwrist, and may be connected to a control center that is 24-houractivated, and may analyze medical symptoms, medication allergies, anddispatch emergency services. The system generates alarms and alertsautomatically if significant changes are observed in the user's vitalsigns. The system may implement medication dispensing devices in orderto ensure that necessary medications are taken at appropriate times, andmay use automated pill dispensers can dispense only the pills that areto be taken at that time and are locked; such as the versions that areavailable for Alzheimer's patients that have a lock on them. Fordiabetic patients a talking glucose monitor allows the patient to checktheir blood sugar level and take the appropriate injection, digitalthermometers are able to recognize a fever and alert physicians, andblood pressure and pulse monitors may dispense hypertensive medicationswhen needed. Other applications and advantages are described in thearticle entitled: “Smart Homes for Older People: Positive Aging in aDigital World” published in Future Internet 2012, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The system may be used in biometrics (a.k.a. biometric authentication)applications, where humans are identified by the control logic by theircharacteristics or traits sensed by the sensors. Biometrics may be usedfor identification and access control, as well as to identifyindividuals in groups that are under surveillance. Biometric identifiersor traits are typically distinctive, measurable physiological orbehavioral characteristics used to identify, label and describeindividuals. Behavioral biometrics relates to the behavior of a person,such as typing rhythm, gait, and voice, and physiological biometricwould identify using voice, DNA, hand print or behavior. Biometrics maybe based on sensors measuring or sensing a brain (electroencephalogram)or a heart (electrocardiogram) signals.

Many different aspects of human physiology, chemistry or behavior can beused for biometric authentication. Preferably, any person using a systemshould possess the trait; however the trait should be unique andsufficiently different for individuals in the relevant population suchthat they can be distinguished from one another. The control logic mayaccommodate both permanent traits that are reasonably invariant overtime with respect to the specific matching algorithm, as well as traitsthat vary over time. Preferably the sensors easily acquire or measurethe trait with accuracy, speed, and robustness, and in a form thatpermits subsequent processing and extraction of the relevant featuresets by the control logic, with minimal possibility of systemcircumvention such as by trait imitating using an artifact orsubstitute.

The system may be used for person verification purposes, where thesystem performs a one-to-one comparison of a captured biometric with aspecific template stored in a biometric database that may be stored inthe control server (or in any other device in the system or external tothe system such as in another server), in order to verify the individualis the person they claim to be. Reference models for all the users aregenerated and stored in the biometric database. Then some samples arematched with reference models to generate the genuine and impostorscores and calculate the threshold. In the testing step, a smart card,username or ID number (e.g., PIN) is used to indicate which templateshould be used for comparison.

The system may be used for identification purposes, where the systemperforms a one-to-many comparison against a biometric database in anattempt to establish the identity of an unknown individual. The systemsucceeds in identifying the individual ‘positive recognition’ if thecomparison of the biometric sample to a template in the database fallswithin a previously set threshold. A ‘negative recognition’ of theperson means that the system establishes that the person is who he(implicitly or explicitly) denies to be, achieved through biometricssince other methods of personal recognition such as passwords, PINS orkeys may be ineffective.

The system may be a multi-biometric system that uses multiple sensors orbiometrics to overcome the limitations of unimodal biometric systems.For instance iris recognition systems can be compromised by aging iridesand finger scanning systems by worn-out or cut fingerprints.Multi-biometric may obtain sets of information from the same sensors ormarkers (i.e., multiple images of an iris, or scans of the same finger),or may be based on information from different biometrics such asrequiring fingerprint scans, using voice recognition, and a spokenpass-code. Multi-biometric systems can integrate unimodal systemssequentially, simultaneously, a combination thereof, or in series, whichrefer to sequential, parallel, hierarchical and serial integrationmodes, respectively.

The information fusion may be broadly divided into three parts:pre-mapping fusion, midst-mapping fusion, and post-mapping fusion/latefusion. In pre-mapping fusion information can be combined at sensorlevel or feature level. Sensor-level fusion may be singlesensor-multiple instances, intra-class multiple sensors, or inter-classmultiple sensors. Feature-level fusion may be inter-class or intra-classtype, the latter may be based on same sensor-same features, samesensor-different features, different sensors-same features, or differentsensors-different features.

The system may be an adaptive biometric system capable of auto-updatingthe templates or models to the intra-class variation of the operationaldata, for solving the problem of limited training data and tracking thetemporal variations of the input data through adaptation.

Soft biometrics traits are physical, behavioral, or adhered humancharacteristics, which have been derived from the way human beingscommonly distinguish their peers (e.g., height, gender, hair color).Such traits include, but are not limited to, physical characteristicssuch as skin color, eye color, hair color, presence of beard, presenceof mustache, height, and weight, behavioral characteristics such as gaitand keystroke, and adhered human characteristics such as clothes color,tattoos, and accessories.

The system may be a security system, and may be according to, or basedon, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,765 to Madau, entitled:“Motor Vehicle Security Sensor System”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,934,426 toRich et al., entitled: “Fiber Optic Security Sensor and System withIntegrated Secure Data Transmission and Power Cables”, in U.S. Pat. No.7,843,336 to Kucharyson, entitled: “Self-Contained Wireless SecuritySensor Collective System and Method”, or in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2007/0164865 to Glasson et al., entitled: “SecuritySensor System”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

The system may be an environmental control system, and may be accordingto, or based on, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,115,646 toTanielian et al., entitled: “Environmental Sensor System”, in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0100327 to Jensen, entitled:“Environmental Sensing and Communication”, in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2007/0004449 to Sham, entitled: “Mobile CommunicationDevice with Environmental Sensors”, or in U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,499 toRunge et al., entitled: “Wireless Environmental Sensor System”, whichare all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

While some arrangements are exampled above where the router or gateway(such as router 40 a), the field units (such as field units 23 a-f), thesensors, and the actuators are located in the same building, it isapparent that this disclosure equally applies to any arrangement whereone or more of these devices or elements is located in differentbuildings or external to the building. In one example, one or more ofthese devices or elements is located in the user premises, such asadjacent to the building, for example located on the roof, mounted onexternal walls, in the outdoor part of the premises such as garden, yardor garage. Further, one or more of these devices or elements is locatedremote from the user premises, such as in another street, neighborhood,city, region, state, or country. An example of such arrangement isdescribed as arrangement 200 in FIG. 20, showing two field units 23 gand 23 h, located externally from the building 19 a. The router 40 a isshown located in the building, connected to the server 48 a similar tothe arrangement 49 shown in FIG. 4. In the example shown in arrangement200, the field unit 23 g may communicate with WAN 46 a. In such a case,the field unit 46 a may communicate with the router 40 a via the WAN 46a, as shown by the data path 201 a shown in arrangement 200 a in FIG.20a . Alternatively or in addition, the field unit 23 a may communicatewith the server 48 a via the WAN 46 a, as shown by the data path 201 bshown in arrangement 200 b in FIG. 20b . Similarly, the field unit 23 his shown connected to the WAN 46 b, which is distinct from the WAN 46 ato which the router 40 a is connected. In such a case, the field unit 23h may communicate with the router 40 a via the WAN 46 a, the Internet16, and WAN 46 a, as shown by the data path 201 c shown in arrangement200 c in FIG. 20c . Alternatively or in addition, the field unit 23 hmay communicate with the server 48 a via the WAN 46 b (and the Internet16), as shown by the data path 201 d shown in arrangement 200 d in FIG.20 d.

In the case each of the field unit 23 g or 23 h include a sensor, thesensor information may be part of the control logic executed by thecontroller as described above. In the case the controller is locatedinside the building such as in the router arrangement 145 shown in FIG.14 above, the router 40 a (serving also as the controller) may receivethe sensor information directly from the field unit, such as describedin arrangement 200 a. Alternatively or in addition, the sensorinformation may be sent to the router 40 a from the server 48 a upon itsreceipt of such information, for example in the arrangement 200 ddescribed in FIG. 20d . Similarly, in the case the controller is part ofthe control server 48 a, sensor information reaching the router 40 a issent by the router 40 a to the control server 48 a to be used as part ofthe control logic. Similarly, actuator commands from the controller aresent to the associated field unit via the control server 48 a or via therouter 40 a, as appropriate.

While some arrangements are exampled above regarding the Internet, it isapparent that this disclosure equally applies to any network such as aLAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a MAN(Metropolitan Area Network). Further, the arrangement equally applies toany digital data network connecting multiple devices, wherein multipledistinct communication paths may be formed between a sender and areceiver of the message. Further, non-packet based networks and networkswhich use protocols other than IP (e.g., cell-based networks such asATM) may equally use the arrangement. In addition, while IP addresseshave been exampled herein for identification of the entities involved inthe communication (such as the source and ultimate destination computersand the intermediate servers), any other type of addresses oridentifiers (involving any of the OSI layers) may be equally used. Forexample, MAC (Medium Access Control) address may be used as analternative or in addition to the IP address.

The applications that can use the arrangement include Electronic Mail(E-Mail) and electronic commerce such as banking, shopping, products, orservices purchase. Further, the arrangement may be used for carryingsensitive information such as passwords and public (or private)encryption keys. Messages carried according to the arrangement mayinclude voice, text, images, video, facsimile, characters, numbers orany other digitally represented information. In one aspect, the messagesare carrying multimedia information, such as audio or video. Themultimedia is carried as part of a one-way or interactive audio or videoservice. The arrangement may be equally used for carrying any real-timeor near-real-time information. The carried audio may be speech or music,and may serve telephony such as VoIP or an Internet radio service.Similarly, the carried video may be part of video services over theInternet such as video conferencing and IPTV (IP Television).

There is a growing widespread use of the Internet for carryingmultimedia, such as video and audio. Various audio services includeInternet-radio stations and VoIP (Voice-over-IP). Video services overthe Internet include video conferencing and IPTV (IP Television). Inmost cases, the multimedia service is a real-time (or near real-time)application, and thus sensitive to delays over the Internet. Inparticular, two-way services such a VoIP or other telephony services andvideo-conferencing are delay sensitive.

In addition to the equipment cost, the costs associated with theoperation of the information device are as follows: a. Communicationservice. The costs associated with the communication sessions. b. ISP,in the case of using the Internet. c. Information service. The costsassociated with operating the relay servers. In general, billing theuser for communication services by the provider may be based on aone-time fee; a flat fee for a period (e.g., monthly); per communicationsession; per lengths of communication sessions or messages; or anycombination of the above.

A Next Generation Network (NGN) is a packet based network which canprovide services including telecommunication services and able to makeuse of multiple broadband, Quality of Service (QoS)—enabled transporttechnologies and in which service-related functions are independent fromunderlying transport-related technologies. The NGN offers unrestrictedaccess by users to different service providers. The NGN operator or anyservice provider using the NGN may offer gateway services based on themethod described herein.

In one aspect the arrangement is used for security as part of cloudcomputing deployment. For example, messages exchanged between a cloudservices provider and a user or as part of the cloud computinginfrastructure. The cloud services may include Cloud Software as aService (SaaS), Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS) and CloudInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and the method described herein maybe used as part of the implementing security measures such as describedin the publication “Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus inCloud Computing V2.1”, Prepared by the Cloud Security Alliance, December2009, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram that illustrates a system 130 including acomputer system 140 and the associated Internet 11 connection upon whichan embodiment may be implemented. Such configuration is typically usedfor computers (hosts) connected to the Internet 11 and executing aserver or a client (or a combination) software. A source computer suchas laptop 12 a, an ultimate destination computer 13 c and relay servers14 a-14 d above, as well as any computer or processor described herein,may use the computer system configuration and the Internet connectionshown in FIG. 13. The system 140 may be used as a portable electronicdevice such as a notebook/laptop computer, a media player (e.g., MP3based or video player), a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), an image processing device (e.g., a digital camera or videorecorder), and/or any other handheld computing devices, or a combinationof any of these devices. Note that while FIG. 13 illustrates variouscomponents of a computer system, it is not intended to represent anyparticular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components; assuch details are not germane. It will also be appreciated that networkcomputers, handheld computers, cell phones and other data processingsystems which have fewer components or perhaps more components may alsobe used. The computer system of FIG. 13 may, for example, be an AppleMacintosh computer or Power Book, or an IBM compatible PC. Computersystem 140 includes a bus 137, an interconnect, or other communicationmechanism for communicating information, and a processor 138, commonlyin the form of an integrated circuit, coupled with bus 137 forprocessing information and for executing the computer executableinstructions. Computer system 140 also includes a main memory 134, suchas a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupledto bus 137 for storing information and instructions to be executed byprocessor 138. Main memory 134 also may be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions to be executed by processor 138. Computer system 140further includes a Read Only Memory (ROM) 136 (or other non-volatilememory) or other static storage device coupled to bus 137 for storingstatic information and instructions for processor 138. A storage device135, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, a hard disk drive forreading from and writing to a hard disk, a magnetic disk drive forreading from and writing to a magnetic disk, and/or an optical diskdrive (such as DVD) for reading from and writing to a removable opticaldisk, is coupled to bus 137 for storing information and instructions.The hard disk drive, magnetic disk drive, and optical disk drive may beconnected to the system bus by a hard disk drive interface, a magneticdisk drive interface, and an optical disk drive interface, respectively.The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenon-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the general purpose computingdevices. Typically computer system 140 includes an Operating System (OS)stored in a non-volatile storage for managing the computer resources andprovides the applications and programs with an access to the computerresources and interfaces. An operating system commonly processes systemdata and user input, and responds by allocating and managing tasks andinternal system resources, such as controlling and allocating memory,prioritizing system requests, controlling input and output devices,facilitating networking and managing files. Non-limiting examples ofoperating systems are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

The term “processor” is meant to include any integrated circuit or otherelectronic device (or collection of devices) capable of performing anoperation on at least one instruction including, without limitation,Reduced Instruction Set Core (RISC) processors, CISC microprocessors,Microcontroller Units (MCUs), CISC-based Central Processing Units(CPUs), and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). The hardware of suchdevices may be integrated onto a single substrate (e.g., silicon “die”),or distributed among two or more substrates. Furthermore, variousfunctional aspects of the processor may be implemented solely assoftware or firmware associated with the processor. Computer system 140may be coupled via bus 137 to a display 131, such as a Cathode Ray Tube(CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a flat screen monitor, a touchscreen monitor or similar means for displaying text and graphical datato a user. The display may be connected via a video adapter forsupporting the display. The display allows a user to view, enter, and/oredit information that is relevant to the operation of the system. Aninput device 132, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled tobus 137 for communicating information and command selections toprocessor 138. Another type of user input device is cursor control 133,such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to processor 138 and forcontrolling cursor movement on display 131. This input device typicallyhas two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and asecond axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in aplane.

The computer system 140 may be used for implementing the methods andtechniques described herein. According to one embodiment, those methodsand techniques are performed by computer system 140 in response toprocessor 138 executing one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions contained in main memory 134. Such instructions may be readinto main memory 134 from another computer-readable medium, such asstorage device 135. Execution of the sequences of instructions containedin main memory 134 causes processor 138 to perform the process stepsdescribed herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry maybe used in place of or in combination with software instructions toimplement the arrangement. Thus, embodiments of the invention are notlimited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” (or “machine-readable medium”) asused herein is an extensible term that refers to any medium or anymemory, that participates in providing instructions to a processor,(such as processor 138) for execution, or any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). Such a medium may store computer-executable instructions tobe executed by a processing element and/or control logic, and data whichis manipulated by a processing element and/or control logic, and maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile medium,volatile medium, and transmission medium. Transmission media includescoaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires thatcomprise bus 137. Transmission media can also take the form of acousticor light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infrareddata communications, or other form of propagating signals (e.g., carrierwaves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). Common forms ofcomputer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexibledisk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM,any other optical medium, punch-cards, paper-tape, any other physicalmedium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM,any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as describedhereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 138 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 140 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector canreceive the data carried in the infrared signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 137. Bus 137 carries the data tomain memory 134, from which processor 138 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 134 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 135 either before or afterexecution by processor 138.

Computer system 140 also includes a communication interface 141 coupledto bus 137. Communication interface 141 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 139 that is connected to alocal network 111. For example, communication interface 141 may be anIntegrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide adata communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line.As another non-limiting example, communication interface 141 may be alocal area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connectionto a compatible LAN. For example, Ethernet based connection based onIEEE802.3 standard may be used such as 10/100BaseT, 1000BaseT (gigabitEthernet), 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GE or 10 GbE or 10 GigE per IEEE Std802.3ae-2002as standard), 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40 GbE), or 100 GigabitEthernet (100 GbE as per Ethernet standard IEEE P802.3ba), as describedin Cisco Systems, Inc. Publication number 1-587005-001-3 (6/99),“Internetworking Technologies Handbook”, Chapter 7: “EthernetTechnologies”, pages 7-1 to 7-38, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein. In such a case, thecommunication interface 141 typically include a LAN transceiver or amodem, such as Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC) LAN91C111 10/100Ethernet transceiver described in the Standard Microsystems Corporation(SMSC) data-sheet “LAN91C111 10/100 Non-PCI Ethernet Single ChipMAC+PHY” Data-Sheet, Rev. 15 (02-20-04), which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one non-limiting example, the communication is based on a LANcommunication, such as Ethernet, and may be partly or in full inaccordance with the IEEE802.3 standard. For example, Gigabit Ethernet(GbE or 1 GigE) may be used, describing various technologies fortransmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second(1,000,000,000 bits per second), as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008standard. There are five physical layer standards for gigabit Ethernetusing optical fiber (1000BASE-X), twisted pair cable (1000BASE-T), orbalanced copper cable (1000BASE-CX). The IEEE 802.3z standard includes1000BASE-SX for transmission over multi-mode fiber, 1000BASE-LX fortransmission over single-mode fiber, and the nearly obsolete 1000BASE-CXfor transmission over balanced copper cabling. These standards use8b/10b encoding, which inflates the line rate by 25%, from 1000 Mbit/sto 1250 Mbit/s, to ensure a DC balanced signal. The symbols are thensent using NRZ. The IEEE 802.3ab, which defines the widely used1000BASE-T interface type, uses a different encoding scheme in order tokeep the symbol rate as low as possible, allowing transmission overtwisted pair. Similarly, The 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GE or 10 GbE or 10GigE may be used, which is a version of Ethernet with a nominal datarate of 10 Gbit/s (billion bits per second), ten times faster thangigabit Ethernet. The 10 gigabit Ethernet standard defines only fullduplex point to point links which are generally connected by networkswitches. The 10 gigabit Ethernet standard encompasses a number ofdifferent physical layers (PHY) standards. A networking device maysupport different PHY types through pluggable PHY modules, such as thosebased on SFP+.

The powering scheme may be based on Power over Ethernet (PoE), whichdescribes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, onEthernet cabling, and may use phantom configuration for carrying thepower. The PoE technology and applications are described in the WhitePaper “All You Need To Know About Power over Ethernet (PoE) and the IEEE802.3af Standard”, by PowerDsine Ltd., 06-0002-082 20 May, 04, and inU.S. Pat. No. 6,473,609 to Lehr et al. entitled: “Structure CablingSystem”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein. The IEEE standard for PoE requirescategory 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate withcategory 3 cable for low power levels. The power is supplied in commonmode over two or more of the differential pairs of wires found in theEthernet cables, and comes from a power supply within a PoE-enablednetworking device such as an Ethernet switch or can be injected into acable run with a midspan power supply. The IEEE 802.3af-2003 PoEstandard, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein, provides up to 15.4 Watts of DC power (minimum44 V DC and 350 mA) to each device. Only 12.95 Watts is assured to beavailable to the powered device as some power is dissipated in thecable. The updated IEEE 802.3at-2009 PoE standard, also known as PoE+ orPoE plus, and which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes asif fully set forth herein, provides up to 25.5 Watts of power. In PoEenvironment, a device may serve as a Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) thatprovides (“sources”) power on the Ethernet cable. A device consumingpower from the LAN is referred to as a Powered Device (PD).

In the case of a dedicated or separated PCB or enclosure, the PCB orenclosure may be designed to be easily removable, for example by an enduser. Such plug-in module is commonly designed to be installed andremoved typically by respectively connecting or disconnecting the moduleconnectors (pins, plugs, jacks, sockets, receptacles or any other types)to or from the mating connectors, commonly using human hand force andwithout any tool. The connection mechanical support may be based only onthe connectors, or supplemented by guides, rails, or any othermechanical support. Such a plug-in module may be pluggable into acomputer system, motherboard, an intermediary device, or a memory.

Discussions herein utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “establishing”, “analyzing”,“checking”, or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) ofa computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or otherelectronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform datarepresented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within thecomputer's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer's registersand/or memories or other information storage medium that may storeinstructions to perform operations and/or processes.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word“couple”, and variations of that word such as “coupling”, “coupled” and“couplable”, refer to an electrical connection (such as a copper wire orsoldered connection), a logical connection (such as through logicaldevices of a semiconductor device), a virtual connection (such asthrough randomly assigned memory locations of a memory device) or anyother suitable direct or indirect connections (including combination orseries of connections), for example for allowing for the transfer ofpower, signal, or data, as well as connections formed throughintervening devices or elements.

The arrangements and methods described herein may be implemented usinghardware, software or a combination of both. The term “softwareintegration” or any other reference to the integration of two programsor processes herein refers to software components (e.g., programs,modules, functions, processes etc.) that are (directly or via anothercomponent) combined, working or functioning together or form a whole,commonly for sharing a common purpose or set of objectives. Suchsoftware integration can take the form of sharing the same program code,exchanging data, being managed by the same manager program, executed bythe same processor, stored on the same medium, sharing the same GUI orother user interface, sharing peripheral hardware (such as a monitor,printer, keyboard and memory), sharing data or a database, or being partof a single package. The term “hardware integration” or integration ofhardware components herein refers to hardware components that are(directly or via another component) combined, working or functioningtogether or form a whole, commonly for sharing a common purpose or setof objectives. Such hardware integration can take the form of sharingthe same power source (or power supply) or sharing other resources,exchanging data or control (e.g., by communicating), being managed bythe same manager, physically connected or attached, sharing peripheralhardware connection (such as a monitor, printer, keyboard and memory),being part of a single package or mounted in a single enclosure (or anyother physical collocating), sharing a communication port, or used orcontrolled with the same software or hardware. The term “integration”herein refers (as applicable) to a software integration, a hardwareintegration, or any combination thereof.

The term “message” is used generically herein to describe at least anordered series of characters or bits intended to convey a package ofinformation (or a portion thereof), which may be transferred from onepoint to another, such as by using communication via one or morecommunication mechanisms or by transferring among processes. The term“port” refers to a place of access to a device, electrical circuit ornetwork, where energy or signal may be supplied or withdrawn. The term“interface” of a networked device refers to a physical interface, alogical interface (e.g., a portion of a physical interface or sometimesreferred to in the industry as a sub-interface—for example, such as, butnot limited to a particular VLAN associated with a network interface),and/or a virtual interface (e.g., traffic grouped together based on somecharacteristic—for example, such as, but not limited to, a tunnelinterface). As used herein, the term “independent” relating to two (ormore) elements, processes, or functionalities, refers to a scenariowhere one does not affect nor preclude the other. For example,independent communication such as over a pair of independent data routesmeans that communication over one data route does not affect norpreclude the communication over the other data routes.

As used herein, the term “Integrated Circuit” (IC) shall include anytype of integrated device of any function where the electronic circuitis manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into thesurface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material (e.g., Silicon),whether single or multiple die, or small or large scale of integration,and irrespective of process or base materials (including, withoutlimitation Si, SiGe, CMOS and GAs) including without limitationapplications specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), digital processors (e.g., DSPs, CISCmicroprocessors, or RISC processors), so-called “system-on-a-chip” (SoC)devices, memory (e.g., DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, ROM), mixed-signaldevices, and analog ICs. The circuits in an IC are typically containedin a silicon piece or in a semiconductor wafer, and commonly packaged asa unit. The solid-state circuits commonly include interconnected activeand passive devices, diffused into a single silicon chip. Integratedcircuits can be classified into analog, digital and mixed signal (bothanalog and digital on the same chip). Digital integrated circuitscommonly contain many of logic gates, flip-flops, multiplexers, andother circuits in a few square millimeters. The small size of thesecircuits allows high speed, low power dissipation, and reducedmanufacturing cost compared with board-level integration. Further, amulti-chip module (MCM) may be used, where multiple integrated circuits(ICs), semiconductor dies, or other discrete components are packagedonto a unifying substrate, facilitating their use as a single component(as though a larger IC).

The term “computer” is used generically herein to describe any number ofcomputers, including, but not limited to personal computers, embeddedprocessing elements and systems, control logic, ASICs, chips,workstations, mainframes, etc. Any computer herein may consist of, or bepart of, a handheld computer, including any portable computer which issmall enough to be held and operated while holding in one hand or fitinto a pocket. Such a device, also referred to as a mobile device,typically has a display screen with touch input and/or miniaturekeyboard. Non-limiting examples of such devices include Digital StillCamera (DSC), Digital video Camera (DVC or digital camcorder), PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), and mobile phones and Smartphones. The mobiledevices may combine video, audio and advanced communicationcapabilities, such as PAN and WLAN. A mobile phone (also known as acellular phone, cell phone and a hand phone) is a device which can makeand receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around awide geographic area, by connecting to a cellular network provided by amobile network operator. The calls are to and from the public telephonenetwork which includes other mobiles and fixed-line phones across theworld. The Smartphones may combine the functions of a personal digitalassistant (PDA), and may serve as portable media players and cameraphones with high-resolution touch-screens, web browsers that can access,and properly display, standard web pages rather than justmobile-optimized sites, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadbandaccess. In addition to telephony, the Smartphones may support a widevariety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internetaccess, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth),business applications, gaming and photography.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices andsystems, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, amobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a cellular handset, a handheldPDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, avehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, anon-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, awireless communication device, a wireless Access Point (AP), a wired orwireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a wired or wireless network,a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan AreaNetwork (MAN), a Wireless MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), aWireless WAN (WWAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless PAN(WPAN), devices and/or networks operating substantially in accordancewith existing IEEE 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11k, 802.11n,802.11r, 802.16, 802.16d, 802.16e, 802.20, 802.21 standards and/orfuture versions and/or derivatives of the above standards, units and/ordevices which are part of the above networks, one way and/or two-wayradio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communicationsystems, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a PersonalCommunication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates awireless communication device, a mobile or portable Global PositioningSystem (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver ortransceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFID element orchip, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transceiver or device, aSingle Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a MultipleInput Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device, a device having one ormore internal antennas and/or external antennas, Digital Video Broadcast(DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, awired or wireless handheld device (e.g., BlackBerry, Palm Treo), aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

As used herein, the term “user device” is meant to include any devicehaving a computer, a user interface, and a network interface. Thenetwork interface allows for communication over a network with otherdevices. The user interface (such as Graphical User Interface—GUI)allows for a human to interact with the device, to operate, control, orto output information to the user device, and to receive indicationsfrom the device. The user interface typically includes, or is based on,a Human Interface Device (HID), used to interact directly to receiveinput from humans, to provide output to humans, or both. Examples ofHIDs that receive information from humans are keyboard, a pointingdevice such as a mouse, a trackball or a pointing stick, a joystick, afingerprint scanner, a dance pad, a touch screen, a camera, amicrophone, and a motion sensor (such as Wii™ remote), and such devicesmay include, or be based on, a sensor, such as any one of the sensorsdisclosed herein. The input may be based on a human touch, a humanmotion, a human voice, or a human gesture (such as hand gesture).Examples of HIDs that output information to humans are a display (forvisual presentation), a speaker (for audio sounding), and a vibrator,and such devices may include, or be based on, an actuator, such as anyone of the actuators disclosed herein. The HID, and the operation in USBenvironment, may be as described in the standard “HID Usage Tables”Version 1.12 (Oct. 28, 2004) by the USB Implementers' Forum, which isincorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. The user device may communicate over any of the networksdescribed herein via its network interface. A user device may consistsof, comprises, be part of, or integrated with, a Digital Still Camera(DSC), a Digital video Camera (DVC or digital camcorder), a landlinetelephone set, a television set, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), amobile phones, one way or two-way radio communication device, a pager, acellular radio-telephone communication device, a cellular telephonehandset, a wireless telephone, a Personal Communication Systems (PCS)device, a mobile or portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device, aPersonal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptopcomputer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, ora handheld computer. Alternatively or in addition, a user device mayconsists of, comprises, be part of, or integrated with, a personalcomputer (such as the personal computer 18 a shown in FIG. 5i ), a homedevice (such as the home devices 15 a and 15 b shown in FIG. 5i ), afield unit (such as the field units 23 a-c shown in FIG. 5i ), a router(such as the router 21 shown in FIG. 5i ), an appliance, or a server(such as the server 24 shown in FIG. 5i ). A user device may communicateover a home network, a control network, the Internet, or any othernetwork, for communication with another device in the system.

As used herein, the terms “program”, “programmable”, and “computerprogram” are meant to include any sequence or human or machinecognizable steps which perform a function. Such programs are notinherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus, andmay be rendered in virtually any programming language or environmentincluding, for example, C/C++, Fortran, COBOL, PASCAL, assemblylanguage, markup languages (e.g., HTML, SGML, XML, VoXML), and thelikes, as well as object-oriented environments such as the Common ObjectRequest Broker Architecture (CORBA), Java™ (including J2ME, Java Beans,etc.) and the like, as well as in firmware or other implementations.Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc., that performs particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types.

The terms “task” and “process” are used generically herein to describeany type of running programs, including, but not limited to a computerprocess, task, thread, executing application, operating system, userprocess, device driver, native code, machine or other language, etc.,and can be interactive and/or non-interactive, executing locally and/orremotely, executing in foreground and/or background, executing in theuser and/or operating system address spaces, a routine of a libraryand/or standalone application, and is not limited to any particularmemory partitioning technique. The steps, connections, and processing ofsignals and information illustrated in the figures, including, but notlimited to any block and flow diagrams and message sequence charts, maytypically be performed in the same or in a different serial or parallelordering and/or by different components and/or processes, threads, etc.,and/or over different connections and be combined with other functionsin other embodiments, unless this disables the embodiment or a sequenceis explicitly or implicitly required (e.g., for a sequence of readingthe value, processing the value—the value must be obtained prior toprocessing it, although some of the associated processing may beperformed prior to, concurrently with, and/or after the read operation).Where certain process steps are described in a particular order or wherealphabetic and/or alphanumeric labels are used to identify certainsteps, the embodiments of the invention are not limited to anyparticular order of carrying out such steps. In particular, the labelsare used merely for convenient identification of steps, and are notintended to imply, specify or require a particular order for carryingout such steps. Furthermore, other embodiments may use more or lesssteps than those discussed herein. The invention may also be practicedin distributed computing environments where tasks are performed byremote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices.

As used herein, the terms “network”, “communication link” and“communications mechanism” are used generically to describe one or morenetworks, communications media or communications systems, including, butnot limited to, the Internet, private or public telephone, cellular,wireless, satellite, cable, data networks. Data networks include, butnot limited to, Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), Wide Area Networks(WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), Personal Area networks (PANs), WLANs(Wireless LANs), Internet, internets, NGN, intranets, Hybrid Fiber Coax(HFC) networks, satellite networks, and Telco networks. Communicationmedia include, but not limited to, a cable, an electrical connection, abus, and internal communications mechanisms such as message passing,interprocess communications, and shared memory. Such networks orportions thereof may utilize any one or more different topologies (e.g.,ring, bus, star, loop, etc.), transmission media (e.g., wired/RF cable,RF wireless, millimeter wave, optical, etc.) and/or communications ornetworking protocols (e.g., SONET, DOCSIS, IEEE Std. 802.3, ATM, X.25,Frame Relay, 3GPP, 3GPP2, WAP, SIP, UDP, FTP, RTP/RTCP, H.323, etc.).While exampled herein with regard to secured communication between apair of network endpoint devices (host-to-host), the described methodcan equally be used to protect the data flow between a pair of gatewaysor any other networking-associated devices (network-to-network), orbetween a network device (e.g., security gateway) and a host(network-to-host).

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types ofwireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, RadioFrequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-DivisionMultiple Access (TDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet RadioService (GPRS), extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrierCDMA, Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT),Bluetooth (RTM), Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max,ZigBee™, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Global System for Mobile communication(GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE),or the like. Further, a wireless communication may be based on wirelesstechnologies that are described in Chapter 20: “Wireless Technologies”of the publication number 1-587005-001-3 by Cisco Systems, Inc. (7/99)entitled: “Internetworking Technologies Handbook”, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A wireless communication may be partly or in full in accordance with, orbased on, the WiGig™ technology developed by the Wireless GigabitAlliance (http://wirelessgigabitalliance.org), and standardized as IEEE802.11ad, allowing multi-gigabit data rate and using the unlicensed 60GHz frequency band. The WiGig tri-band enabled in-room devices, whichoperate in the 2.4, 5 and 60 GHz bands, supports data transmission ratesup to 7 Gbit/s, and is based on, supplements and extends the 802.11Media Access Control (MAC) layer and is thus backward compatible withthe IEEE 802.11 standard. The specifications further supports protocoladaptation layers are being developed to support specific systeminterfaces including data buses for PC peripherals and displayinterfaces for HDTVs, monitors and projectors, and is based on phasearray antenna beamforming, enabling robust communication at distancesbeyond 10 meters, while the beams can move within the coverage areathrough modification of the transmission phase of individual antennaelements. The WiGig technology is further described in the white paperentitled: “WiGig White Paper—Defining the Future of Multi-GigabitWireless Communications”, published by WiGig Alliance, July 2010, whichis incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

Alternatively or in addition, an in-room wireless communication may bein accordance with, or based on, the WirelessHD™ technology developed bythe WirelessHD™ Consortium (http://www.wirelesshd.org) and standardizedas IEEE 802.15.3c-2009, which based on a 7 GHz channel in the 60 GHzExtremely High Frequency radio band. It allows for either compressed(H.264) or uncompressed digital transmission of high-definition videoand audio and data signals. The 1.1 version of the specificationincreases the maximum data rate to 28 Gbit/s, supports common 3Dformats, 4K resolution, WPAN data, low-power mode for portable devices,and HDCP 2.0 content protection. The 60 GHz band usually requires lineof sight between transmitter and receiver, and the WirelessHDspecification ameliorates this limitation through the use of beamforming at the receiver and transmitter antennas to increase thesignal's effective radiated power. The range obtained may be in-room,point-to-point, non line-of-sight (NLOS) at up to 10 meters. Further,The WirelessHD specification has provisions for content encryption viaDigital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP) as well as provisions fornetwork management. The WirelessHD™ technology is further described inthe overview entitled: “WirelessHD Specifications Version 1.1 Overview”,published by the WirelessHD consortium, May 2010, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

Alternatively or in addition, a wireless communication may be inaccordance with, or based on, the Wireless Home Digital Interface(WHDI™) technology developed by the WHDI™ Special Interest Group(http://www.whdi.org), and provides a high-quality, uncompressedwireless link which can support delivery of equivalent video data ratesof up to 3 Gbps (including uncompressed 1080p) in a 40 MHz channel inthe 5 GHz unlicensed band, conforming to FCC regulations. Equivalentvideo data rates of up to 1.5 Gbps (including uncompressed 1080i and720p) can be delivered on a single 20 MHz channel in the 5 GHzunlicensed band, conforming to worldwide 5 GHz spectrum regulations. Therange is beyond 100 feet, through walls, and latency is less than onemillisecond. The WHDI™ technology is further described in the technicaloverview entitled: “Enabling Wireless uncompressed HDTV Connectivitywith a Unique Video-Modem Approach” by Meir Feder, published by theAMIMON Ltd., which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes asif fully set forth herein.

A wireless communication may use white spaces, which relates to thefrequencies and frequency bands allocated between used or licensed radiofrequency bands (or channels) to avoid interference or to serve as guardband. Further, white space refers to frequency bands between about 50MHz and 700 MHz traditionally used for analog television broadcast, andwere freed in the switchover to digital television. In the UnitedStates, full power analog television broadcasts, which operated betweenthe 54 MHz and 806 MHz (54-72, 76-88, 174-216, 470-608, and 614-806)television frequencies (Channels 2-69), ceased operating on Jun. 12,2009 per a United States digital switchover mandate. At that time, fullpower TV stations were required to switch to digital transmission andoperate only between 54 MHz and 698 MHz. The abandoned televisionfrequencies are primarily covering TV channels 52 to 69 (698 to 806MHz), as well as unused television frequencies between 54 MHz and 698MHz (TV Channels 2-51). In the rest of the world, the abandonedtelevision channels are VHF, and the resulting large VHF white spacesare being re-allocated for the worldwide (except the U.S.) digital radiostandard DAB and DAB+, and DMB. A device intended to use these availablechannels is commonly referred to as a “White-Spaces Device” (WSD), andare typically designed to detect the presence of existing but unusedareas of the airwaves, such as those reserved for analog television, andutilize these unused airwaves to transmit signals for communicationapplication such as for Internet connectivity. The communication overwhite spaces may be partly or in full in accordance with, or based on,IEEE 802.11 af or IEEE 802.22 standards (sometimes referred to as SuperWi-Fi standards).

The wireless communication over white spaces may be partly or in full inaccordance with, or based on, Wireless Regional Area Network (WRAN)standard IEEE 802.22—“Standard for Wireless Regional Area Networks(WRAN)—Specific requirements—Part 22: Cognitive Wireless RAN MediumAccess Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications: Policiesand procedures for operation in the TV Bands”, described in the article‘IEEE 802.22: An Introduction to the First Wireless Standard based onCognitive Radios’, by Carlos Cordeiro, Kiran Challapali, DagnachewBirru, and Sai Shankar, published in the Journal of Communication, Vol.1, No. 1, April 2006, and in the presentation ‘IEEE 802.22 WirelessRegional Area Networks—Enabling Rural Broadband Wireless Access UsingCognitive Radio Technology’, by Apruva N. Mody and Gerald Chouinard,Doc. # IEEE 802.22-10/0073r3 Jun. 2010, which are both incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

Such communication may use Cognitive Radio (CR) techniques to allowsharing of geographically unused spectrum formerly allocated to theTelevision Broadcast Service, on a non-interfering basis.Cognitive-based dynamic spectrum access is described, for example, inthe document entitled: ‘Dynamic Spectrum Access In IEEE 802.22—BasedCognitive Wireless Networks: A Game Theoretic Model for CompetitiveSpectrum Bidding and Pricing’ by Dusit Niyato and Ekram Hossain,published IEEE Wireless Communication April 2009, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The communication may operate in a point to multipoint basis (P2MP), andthe network may be formed by Base Stations (BS) and Customer-PremisesEquipment (CPE), where the CPEs are communicating with a BS via awireless link, while the BSs control the medium access for all the CPEsattached to it. The WRAN Base Stations may capable of performing adistributed sensing, where the CPEs are sensing the spectrum and aresending periodic reports to the BS informing it about what they sense,such that the BS, with the information gathered, may evaluate whether achange is necessary in the channel or channels used, or on the contrary,if it should stay transmitting and receiving in the same one. The PHYlayer may use OFDMA as the modulation scheme and may use one TV channel(a TV channel typically has a bandwidth of 6 MHz; in some countries 7 or8 MHz is used), and may use more than one channel using a ChannelBonding scheme.

In such environment, the gateway or router 21, 40, or 143 may serve asthe base station, while the field units 23, computer 161, server 24, orthe home devices 15 functions as CPEs. Similarly, the gateway or router21, 40, or 143 may serve as the CPE, while part or all of the fieldunits 23, computer 161, server 24, or the home devices 15 functions asBS.

The wireless communication may be partly or in full in accordance with,or based on, short-range communication such as Near Field Communication(NFC), having a theoretical working distance of 20 centimeters and apractical working distance of about 4 centimeters, and commonly usedwith mobile devices, such as smartphones. The NFC typically operates at13.56 MHz as defined in ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface and at data ratesranging from 106 Kbit/s to 424 Kbit/s. NFC commonly involves aninitiator and a target; the initiator actively generates an RF fieldthat may power a passive target. NFC peer-to-peer communication ispossible, provided both devices are powered. In NFC environment, thegateway or router 21, 40, or 143 may serve as the initiator, while thefield units 23, computer 161, server 24, or the home devices 15functions as targets. Similarly, the gateway or router 21, 40, or 143may serve as the target, while part or all of the field units 23,computer 161, server 24, or the home devices 15 functions as initiators.

The NFC typically supports passive and active modes of operation. Inpassive communication mode, the initiator device provides a carrierfield and the target device answers by modulating the existing field,and the target device may draw its operating power from theinitiator-provided electromagnetic field, thus making the target devicea transponder. In active communication mode, both devices typically havepower supplies, and both initiator and target devices communicate byalternately generating their own fields where a device deactivates itsRF field while it is waiting for data. NFC typically usesAmplitude-Shift Keying (ASK), and employs two different schemes totransfer data. At the data transfer rate of 106 Kbit/s, a modifiedMiller coding with 100% modulation is used, while in all other casesManchester coding is used with a modulation ratio of 10%.

The NFC communication may be partly or in full in accordance with, orbased on, NFC standards ISO/IEC 18092 or ECMA-340 entitled: “Near FieldCommunication Interface and Protocol-1 (NFCIP-1)”, and ISO/IEC 21481 orECMA-352 standards entitled: “Near Field Communication Interface andProtocol-2 (NFCIP-2)”. The NFC technology is described in ECMAInternational white paper Ecma/TC32-TG19/2005/012 entitled: “Near FieldCommunication—White paper”, in Rohde&Schwarz White Paper 1MA182_4eentitled: “Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology and MeasurementsWhite Paper”, and in Jan Kremer Consulting Services (JKCS) white paperentitled: “NFC—Near Field Communication—White paper”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

The system 49 b in FIG. 4b above shows two communication routesdesignated as routes 400 a and 400 b connecting the router 40 a toservers 48 a and 48 b. Similarly, system 49 d in FIG. 4d examples theconnection of router 40 a to the ISP server 47 a via two communicationroutes, consisting of wired WAN 46 a and wireless WAN 46 b. The system500 i shown in FIG. 5j similarly shows two communication routes 500 gand 500 h, connecting the field unit 23 d to router 21. In the generalcase, any pair of devices in the system may communicate over two or moredistinct or independent communication routes. Further, one, two, threeor all of the communicating device pairs in the system may use two,three, or more distinct or independent alternative communication routes.The communication routes may involve direct communication between thepair of devices where the devices communicate directly with each otherover a communication network.

Alternatively or in addition, one or more of the alternativecommunication route use one or more intermediary device, acting as arepeater or a router. The intermediary device may be a dedicated devicefunctioning as a traditional repeater, or alternatively a device in thesystem may double as a repeater. For example, while the arrangement 500i in FIG. 5j shows communication route 500 g using network 22 a andcommunication route 500 g using network 22 b, both routes directlyconnecting field unit 23 d to the router 21. In one example, a newcommunication route may be formed, where the field unit 23 b also servesas a repeater for field unit 23 d, and passes information between thesetwo devices.

Multiple distinct or independent communication routes provide higherreliability such as avoiding single point of failure (SPOF), where inthe case of any failure in one of the communication routes, the otherroutes may still provide the required connection and the systemfunctionality is preserved, thus a therein renders the system fullyfunctional, using a backup or fail-safe scheme. The operation of theredundant communication routes may be based on standby redundancy,(a.k.a. Backup Redundancy), where one of the data paths or theassociated hardware is considered as a primary unit, and the other datapath (or the associated hardware) is considered as the secondary unit,serving as back up to the primary unit. The secondary unit typicallydoes not monitor the system, but is there just as a spare. The standbyunit is not usually kept in sync with the primary unit, so it mustreconcile its input and output signals on the takeover of thecommunication. This approach does lend itself to give a “bump” ontransfer, meaning the secondary operation may not be in sync with thelast system state of the primary unit. Such mechanism may require awatchdog, which monitors the system to decide when a switchovercondition is met, and command the system to switch control to thestandby unit. Standby redundancy configurations commonly employ twobasic types, namely ‘Cold Standby’ and ‘Hot Standby’.

In cold standby, the secondary unit is either powered off or otherwisenon-active in the system operation, thus preserving the reliability ofthe unit. The drawback of this design is that the downtime is greaterthan in hot standby, because the standby unit needs to be powered up oractivated, and brought online into a known state.

On hot standby, the secondary unit is powered up or otherwise keptoperational, and can optionally monitor the system. The secondary unitmay serve as the watchdog and/or voter to decide when to switch over,thus eliminating the need for an additional hardware for this job. Thisdesign does not preserve the reliability of the standby unit as well asthe cold standby design. However, it shortens the downtime, which inturn increases the availability of the system. Some flavors of HotStandby are similar to Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) or ParallelRedundancy. The main difference between Hot Standby and DMR is howtightly the primary and the secondary are synchronized. DMR completelysynchronizes the primary and secondary units.

While a redundancy of two was exampled above, where two data paths andtwo hardware devices were used, a redundancy involving three or moredata paths or systems may be equally used. The term ‘NT’ ModularRedundancy, (a.k.a. Parallel Redundancy) refers to the approach ofhaving multiply units or data paths running in parallel. All units arehighly synchronized and receive the same input information at the sametime. Their output values are then compared and a voter decides whichoutput values should be used. This model easily provides ‘bumpless’switchovers. This model typically has faster switchover times than HotStandby models, thus the system availability is very high, but becauseall the units are powered up and actively engaged with the systemoperation, the system is at more risk of encountering a common modefailure across all the units.

Deciding which unit is correct can be challenging if only two units areused. If more than two units are used, the problem is simpler, usuallythe majority wins or the two that agree win. In N Modular Redundancy,there are three main typologies: Dual Modular Redundancy, Triple ModularRedundancy, and Quadruple Redundancy. Quadruple Modular Redundancy (QMR)is fundamentally similar to TMR but using four units instead of three toincrease the reliability. The obvious drawback is the 4× increase insystem cost.

Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) uses two functional equivalent units, thuseither can control or support the system operation. The most challengingaspect of DMR is determining when to switch over to the secondary unit.Because both units are monitoring the application, a mechanism is neededto decide what to do if they disagree. Either a tiebreaker vote orsimply the secondary unit may be designated as the default winner,assuming it is more trustworthy than the primary unit. Triple ModularRedundancy (TMR) uses three functionally equivalent units to provide aredundant backup. This approach is very common in aerospace applicationswhere the cost of failure is extremely high. TMR is more reliable thanDMR due to two main aspects. The most obvious reason is that two“standby” units are used instead of just one. The other reason is thatin a technique called diversity platforms or diversity programming maybe applied. In this technique, different software or hardware platformsare used on the redundant systems to prevent common mode failure. Thevoter decides which unit will actively control the application. WithTMR, the decision of which system to trust is made democratically andthe majority rules. If three different answers are obtained, the votermust decide which system to trust or shut down the entire system, thusthe switchover decision is straightforward and fast.

Another redundancy topology is 1:N Redundancy, where a single backup isused for multiple systems, and this backup is able to function in theplace of any single one of the active systems. This technique offersredundancy at a much lower cost than the other models by using onestandby unit for several primary units. This approach only works wellwhen the primary units all have very similar functions, thus allowingthe standby to back up any of the primary units if one of them fails.

While the redundant data paths have been exampled with regard to theadded reliability and availability, redundant data paths may as well beused in order to provide higher aggregated data rate, allowing forfaster response and faster transfer of data over the multiple datapaths. Further, multiple communication routes may improve the delaythrough the system, in particular where the transfer delay isstatistical and practically random, such as in packet-based deliverysystems or over the Internet.

An example of part of a device 210 capable of communicating over threenetworks 211 a, 221 b and 211 c is shown in FIG. 21. The device may beany device, and in particular any one or more of the devices describedherein such as the field unit 23, the router 21 or the router 40, or thehome device 15. The device 210 includes three interfaces 214 a, 214 b,and 214 c, for respectively communicating over the networks 211 a, 211b, and 211 c. Each of the interfaces commonly includes all thecomponents required for the communication over the respective network,and adapted to the specific network. The interface 214 a includesnetwork connection 212 a connected to a modem 213 a (or a transceiver ingeneral). Similarly, the interface 214 b includes a network connection212 b connected to a modem 213 b, and the interface 214 c includesnetwork connection 212 c connected to a modem 213 c. In the case of awired or a conductive medium, the network connection 212 is typically aconnector, while in the case of a radio-frequency and over-the-airnetwork, the network connection 212 is commonly an antenna. A packet (orany otherwise formatted digital data information piece) to betransmitted is received by the interface selector 215 via input 217,which directs the packet to one of more of the network interfaces 214 a,214 b and 214 c to be sent over the respective networks 211 a, 211 b,and 211 c. The interface selector 215 operation is controlled by thecomputer or processor 216. The computer 216 may be in part or in whole adedicated separated component, or may be the same computer used by thedevice 210 for other device functionalities, such as computer 53 in thesensor unit 50, computer 63 in actuator unit 60, computer 71 in fieldunit 70, or controller 147 in router 143 described herein. While device210 is exampled having three network interfaces 214, two, four and anynumber of interfaces may be equally used for connecting to multiplenetworks 211. The interface selector 215 may be hardware based, wherethe input 217 is a physical port or connection, or may be implemented insoftware or firmware executed by the computer 216 where the packet isreceived from other processes executed by the computer or processor 216.

The networks 211 a, 211 b, and 211 c may be similar, identical ordifferent from each other. For example, networks 211 a and 211 b may usedifferent, similar or the same type of medium, and may use different,similar or the same protocol for communication over the network medium.Similarly, networks 211 a and 211 c may use different, similar or thesame type of medium, and may use different, similar or the same protocolfor communication over the network medium. In the general case, some ofthe networks may be similar, identical or different from each other. Thenetwork interfaces 214 a, 214 b, and 214 c may be (in part or in whole)similar, identical or different from each other. For example, networkinterfaces 214 a and 214 b may use different, similar or the same typeof physical layer or other OSI layers, and may use different, similar orthe same type of modem 213 or network connection 212.

In one example, some of the networks may be wired (or otherwiseconductive) while the other may be wireless (or otherwise usingnon-conductive propagation). Such example is shown in FIG. 22, wherenetworks 211 a and 211 b are wired networks, using wiring 222 a and 222b respectively, while network 211 c is a wireless over-the-air networkusing radio waves. In such scenario device 220 is used, where thegeneric network interface 214 a is implemented as interface 224 a havinga wired modem 225 a and connector 221 a for connecting to the matingconnector 223 a attached to the wiring 222 a. Similarly, the genericnetwork interface 214 b is implemented as interface 224 b having a wiredmodem 225 b and connector 221 b for connecting to the mating connector223 b attached to the wiring 222 b. The generic network interface 214 cis implemented as interface 224 c having a wireless modem 219 and anantenna 218 for transmitting to, and receiving from, the wirelessnetwork 211 c. Similarly, all the networks may be wired networks, usingdifferent types of medium, such that one or more networks uses a coaxialcable (where the interface includes a coaxial connector and coaxialcable modem), one or more of the other networks are using twisted-pair(where the interface includes a cable connector and twisted-pair modem),while one or more of the other networks are using powerlines, telephonelines or similar, and the interfaces are using the appropriateconnectors and modems. Further, all the networks may be wirelessnetworks, using different types of non-conductive medium or differenttypes of propagation technologies. For example, one or more networksuses a Radio Frequency (RF) propagation (where the interface includes anantenna and wireless modem), one or more of the other networks are usinglight propagation such as over the air or fiber-optic cable (where theinterface includes a light emitter and detector and an appropriatemodem), while one or more of the other networks are using sound basedpropagation (where the interface includes a sound emitter such as aspeaker and a microphone and an appropriate modem).

Similarly, all the networks may be the same type of geographical scaleor coverage networks, such as NFC, PAN, LAN, MAN, or WAN types.Alternatively, multiple types of geographical scales or types may beused, such that one or more networks are PAN, one or more of the othernetworks are LAN, one or more of the other networks are WAN, and soforth. Similarly, the networks may all use the same type of modulation,such as Amplitude Modulation (AM), a Frequency Modulation (FM), or aPhase Modulation (PM). Alternatively, multiple types of modulations maybe used, such that one or more networks use AM, one or more of the othernetworks use FM, one or more of the other networks use PM, and so forth.Similarly, the same of different line codes may be used among thenetworks. Further, the networks may all use the same type of duplexing,such as full-duplex, half-duplex or unidirectional. Alternatively,multiple types of modulations may be used, such that one or morenetworks use full-duplex communication, one or more of the othernetworks use half-duplex, one or more of the other networks areunidirectional, and so forth. Similarly, the same of different datarates may be used among the networks.

The networks may be circuit-switched based such as the PSTN, wheretypically two network nodes establish a dedicated communications channel(circuit) through the network before the nodes may communicate with eachother. The circuit functions as if the nodes were physically connectedas with an electrical circuit and guarantees the full bandwidth of thechannel and remains connected for the duration of the communicationsession. In circuit switching, the bit delay is constant during aconnection, as opposed to packet switching, where packet queues maycause varying and potentially indefinitely long packet transfer delays.Virtual circuit switching is a packet switching technology that emulatescircuit switching, in the sense that the connection is establishedbefore any packets are transferred, and packets are delivered in order.The networks may be based on packet switching based where the data to betransmitted is divided into packets transmitted through the networkindependently. In packet switching, instead of being dedicated to onecommunication session at a time, the network links may be shared bypackets from multiple competing communication sessions. Similarly, thenetworks may be a combination of circuit- and packet-based networks.

The networks may be private data networks where the medium or theequipment are owned by a private entity, or where the network isestablished, operated, or administered by a private administration, ormay be public data networks, which were established or are operated forproviding services to the public. Similarly, the networks may be acombination of private and public networks.

In one example, two or more network interfaces 214 communicate to thesame network or to same network medium, providing redundancy by havingmultiple interfaces, which may function as redundant units. Such anexample is shown in FIG. 22a as device 220 a. Both network interfaces224 a and 224 b are communicating over the same medium 222 a, sharingthe connector 221 a for connecting to the same medium 222 a. Bothnetwork interfaces may use the wiring 222 a serving as the networkmedium simultaneously using the FDM technique (Frequency DivisionMultiplexing). In such configuration, the same network medium, such asthe wiring 222 a is used for carrying two or more distinct communicationsignals, each using a distinct frequency spectrum band. Such arrangementis shown as device 220 b in FIG. 22b , based on device 220 a in FIG. 22a. The network interfaces 224 a and 224 b are replaced with interfaces226 a and 226 b, having filters 227 a and 227 b respectively connectedbetween the respective modem and the shared connector 221 a. The filterssubstantially pass part of the available frequency spectrum of thewiring 222 a, allowing for concurrent transmission of two communicationsignals over the same physical medium. Alternatively, distinctmodulation or coding may be used in order to carry two or more signalsover the same medium. Similarly, a single antenna may be used as anetwork connection and shared by two more wireless modems, working onthe same frequency band, distinct frequency bands, or a combinationthereof. An example of sharing two communication signals over the samemedium is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0032902 toKoifman et al., entitled: “Modem Channel Sharing Based on FrequencyDivision”.

The flow chart 230 shown in FIG. 23 describes the packet handling in amultiple network connection device, such as device 210 shown in FIG. 21.A packet to be sent is received by the interface selector 215 in step‘Receive Packet’ 231, for example via port 217. In step ‘Check AvailableInterfaces’ 232 the interfaces that are available for transmission ofthe received packet are identified. For example, interfaces may not beavailable due to network or interface malfunction, or the interface maybe busy in transmitting former packet or data. Similarly, in half-duplexconnection, an interface may be in the state of receiving information,hence not available for transmission at the time of reception. Next, in‘Select Interface’ 233 step, an interface to be used (or multipleinterfaces) is selected out of the available interfaces. In step ‘SendPacket’ 234 the packet is directed and sent to the selected interfacefor being transmitted over the associated network.

In one example, the device may use a broadcast mechanism, where thepacket is sent via all available interfaces, hence obviating the needfor the ‘Select Interface’ 233 step. Similarly, two, three, or any othernumber of the available interfaces may be used to transmit the samepacket. Such mechanism allows for fault tolerant transmission, sinceeven in the case of communication failure of any one of paralleltransmitted packet routes, one of the transmitted packets will arrive tothe destination, thus enhancing the system reliability. Further, sucharrangement allows for lower delay in the transmission, since thefastest communication route among those routes that are used willdetermine the transfer time. This may prove beneficial especially overthe Internet or any other packet-based network, typically where transfertime is not guaranteed and is practically random.

Alternatively or in addition, the packet may be directed to betransmitted over a single network using a single interface. Theselection mechanism may be designed for optimizing load balancing overthe networks, for providing higher reliability, for reducing costsassociated with the networks usage, allowing for higher total throughputand so forth. The selection of the interface to be used in the ‘SelectInterface’ 233 step may use the cyclic assigning mechanism, where allinterfaces are treated equally. For example, assuming three interfacesdesignated as #1, #2, and #3, the first packet will be directed tointerface #1, the second packet to interface #2, the third packet tointerface #3, the fourth packet again to interface #1, the fifth packetto interface #2, and so forth in a cyclic pattern. In the case one ofthe interfaces is or becomes unavailable upon its turn, the ‘next’interface is selected. In the case of two interfaces, the arrivingpackets to be sent are alternated between them. In the case when theinterfaces have the same or similar data-rate capability, the selectionmechanism is thus similar to, or the same as, common Time-DivisionMultiplexing (TDM) scheme, and the interface selector 215 effectivelyserves as a time-division multiplexer. The data-rate provided by themultiple network connections are thus aggregated to provide increasedthroughput.

In another alternative or in addition, the interface is randomlyselected in the ‘Select Interface’ 233 step, allowing for ‘fair’ andevenly distributed workload over the available network and interfaces.The randomness may be based on a random number generated by a randomnumber generator. The random number generator may be based on a physicalprocess (such as thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation,photoelectric effect or other quantum phenomena), or on an algorithm forgenerating pseudo-random numbers.

Further alternatively or in addition, a priority may be assigned to eachnetwork interface. During operation in ‘Select Interface’ 233 step, thehighest priority interface is assigned to the outgoing packet. In casethat this highest priority interface is busy or otherwise unavailable,the second highest priority is used. The third priority interface willbe used only in the case where the highest priority and the second inline interfaces are busy or otherwise unavailable. The priorities may bepre-set, fixed or adaptive and changing in time.

The selection of the interface to be used, or the priorities assigned tothe network interfaces, may be based on the available networksattributes or their history. For example, based on the costs associatedwith the usage of a network, the higher cost network may have lowerpriority and less used than lower cost or free network. In anotherexample, a high quality network, such as having a higher availablebandwidth or throughput, lower communication errors or packet loss,lower hops to destination, or lower transfer delay time, is havinghigher priority that a lower quality network. The system may use BitError Rate (BER), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Packet LossRatio (PLR), Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) and other indicators ormeasures associated with the communication channel associated with anetwork interface, and may be based on, use, or include the methodologyand schemes described in RFC 2544 entitled: “Benchmarking Methodologyfor Network Interconnect Devices”, and ITU-T Y.1564 entitled: “EthernetService Activation Test Methodology”, which are both incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Thenetwork quality grade may be affected by the history of using such anetwork, for example in a pre-set period before the network interfaceselection process. In one example, the network interface where the lastproper packet was received from may be selected as the interface to beused for the next packet to be transmitted. The system may further use,or be based on, the schemes and technologies described in U.S. Pat. No.7,027,418 to Gan et al. entitled: “Approach for Selecting CommunicationsChannels Based on Performance”, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The selection of the interface to be used, or the priorities assigned tothe network interfaces, may be based on the attributes of the packet tobe sent. In one example, the selection scheme is based on the packetdestination address, where the device assigns an outgoing interfaceaccording the destination address in the packet, which may be a MAC orIP (such as IPv4 or IPv6) address, based on routing tables. The routingtables may be fixed, or may change in time. The routing tables may bedynamically updated based on the interface from which a packet from thedestination arrived in an earlier communication, similar to a common LANswitching, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,631 toBhardwaj, entitled: “Computer Network Switching System”, which isincorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

Alternatively or in addition, the selection of the interface to be used,or the priorities assigned to the network interfaces, may be based onthe information source or on the source address. The device may holdfixed or dynamic routing tables associating the various sources ofinformation to the available network interfaces, such that when a packetis received, the data source is analyzed, and upon the stored routingtable information, the packet is routed to the associated networkinterface. For example, a field unit may include, or may be connectedto, four sensors designated as sensors #1, #2, #3, and #4, and mayinclude three network interfaces, designated as #1, #2, and #3. Therouting table may associate sensors #1 and #3 to interface #2, sensor #2to interface #3, and sensor #4 to interface #1. Alternatively or inaddition, the selection of the interface to be used, or the prioritiesassigned to the network interfaces, may be based on the type ofinformation carried in the packet. For example, few types of informationmay be defined in the system, designated as types #1, #2, #3, and #4.For example, information type #1 may be associated with generalmanagement data, information type #2 may be associated with real time ortime-sensitive information, information type #4 may be associated withimages, and information type #4 may be associated with all otherinformation types. The device may hold fixed or dynamic routing tablesassociating the various types of information to the available networkinterfaces, such that when a packet is received, the data type isanalyzed, and upon the stored routing table information, the packet isrouted to the associated network interface.

Each of the devices in the system, such as the router (such as router 40in FIG. 4 or router 21 in FIG. 5h ), the field unit (such as any offield units 23), or the control server (such as server 24), may beaddressed in a digital data network. The address may be a digitaladdress (typically a number) for uniquely identifying the device in oneof the in-building (or in-vehicle) networks such as one of the controlnetworks 22 or one of the home networks 14, in the external network suchas one of the WANs 46, or in the Internet 16. The address may be storedin a volatile or non-volatile memory in the addressable device. A deviceaddress may be global and recognized and used throughout the system, ormay be used in a one or more networks, such as the networks coupled tothe device and over which the device may communicate. In one example,the address may be used for identification in the network to which thedevice is coupled. Alternatively or in addition, the same address may beused for two or all the networks in the system. The address may beassociated with the Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the OSIreference model (or layer 2), such as MAC-48, Extended Unique Identifier(EUI)-48, or EUI-64 addresses typically assigned by the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and described in the IEEE802 standard, commonly used in Ethernet, 802.11 wireless networks,Bluetooth, IEEE 802.5 token ring, FDDI, and ITU-T G.hn. The address maybe or locally administered addresses universally administered addresses,where the address is uniquely assigned to a device by its manufacturer.The MAC address may be a permanent and globally unique hardware-basedidentification, commonly stored in a non-volatile memory in the deviceand programmed during manufacturing, however it may be possible tochange the MAC address on modern hardware. Changing MAC addresses (knownas MAC spoofing) may be used in network virtualization or in the processof exploiting security vulnerabilities.

Alternatively or in addition, a device may be addressable using a layer3 addressing, such as IP address, which may be an IPv4 or IPv6 address,commonly software-based and assigned by the Internet Assigned NumbersAuthority (IRNA). The IP address may be permanently by fixedconfiguration of its hardware or software such as static IP address,typically manually assigned to a device by a human administrator.Alternatively or in addition, dynamic IP address may be used, where newaddress may be assigned either autonomously by a software in the device,or by another device via a communication interface (at the time orpower-up or booting), such as an address assigned by a server or otherdevice using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). For example,the addresses of the field units may be assigned by the router, thein-building (or in-vehicle) computer 18, or by the control server.Similarly, the address of the router may be assigned by the router or bythe control server or by the in-building (or in-vehicle) computer 18.

A device may be associated with multiple addresses. For example, adevice may be addressed using multiple addresses, each relating to adifferent layer of the OSI model, such as a device having both a MAC andIP addresses. Alternatively or in addition, a device that maycommunicate directly or indirectly via few networks, may have adifferent addresses, each related and used in one of the networks. Forexample, in the case a device may communicate over multiple networks viadifferent interfaces, a distinct address may be associated with eachnetwork interface. For example, the router 21 is shown in FIG. 16enabled for communicating over control network 22 via interface 146 a,over the control network 22 a via interface 146 b, over the home network14 a via interface 146 c, and over the Internet 16. In such a case, therouter may be addressable by four different addresses, each associatedwith a distinct interface connected to a distinct network. Similarly,the device 210 is shown in FIG. 21 to communicate over networks 211 a,211 b, and 211 c via the respective network interfaces 214 a, 214 b, and214 c, and may thus be associated with three different addresses eachrelating to a respective network interface 214. The network addressesmay be an alternative or an addition to the address or addressesassociated with the device itself.

In one example, the sensors and actuators are individually addressed inthe system. The field unit 60 h shown in FIG. 6g includes two actuators61 a and 61 b. An address may be associated by each actuator 61, andpackets carrying commands to these actuators may be routed to thespecific actuator identified by its address. These two actuatoraddresses may be in addition to two addresses associated with thenetwork interfaces including the modems 54 and 64 of the field unit 60h. Similarly, each sensor in the system may be individually addressed,such as individually assigned addresses to sensors 51 a and 51 b shownas part of the field unit 50 g in FIG. 5g . Any packet transmitted fromthe field unit 50 g carrying a sensor data, may include the specificsensor address as its identifier as the data source. These two sensoraddresses may be in addition to two addresses associated with thenetwork interfaces including the modems 54 and 64 of the field unit 50g. In the case the sensor or the actuator is external to the field unitand connected thereto, the port or connection to the sensor or actuatorwill be associated with the individual address. Similarly, othercomponents, interfaces, or ports of the devices in the system may beindividually addressable, as an alternative or in addition to the otherdevice address or addresses, and thus may serve as the destination orsource addresses in the packets routed in the system. The sensors oractuators addresses, or the related connections or ports, may beuniquely assigned to during manufacturing, or may be assigned by theassociated field unit, or a device communicating with the associatedfield unit.

While exampled above regarding a residential environment, in-buildingnetworks, and communication between in-building devices to devicesexternal to the building, the system may equally apply to vehicularenvironment, such as in-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-vehicle(sometimes referred to as V2V) designed for automobiles to communicateto each other, and communication between the vehicle to stationarydevices external to the vehicle such as communication with or viaroadside units. A vehicle is typically a mobile unit designed or used totransport passengers or cargo between locations, such as bicycles, cars,motorcycles, trains, ships, aircrafts, boats, and spacecrafts. In suchenvironment, one (or more) of the buildings 19 above is substituted by avehicle, as schematically shown as arrangement 240 shown in FIG. 24,where a car shape 241 is replacing the building 19 in the arrangement 20of FIG. 2 above. Similarly, the building external computer or server 24may be substituted with a roadside computer or server, or anyintermediary device for connecting to a server or computer. Thein-building networks 22 and 14 above may be substituted with in-vehiclenetworks, and the computers 18 may similarly be replaced with in-vehiclecomputers. The vehicle may be travelling on land, over or in liquid suchas water, or may be airborne. The sensors may be used to sense aphenomenon in the vehicle, external to the vehicle, or in thesurroundings around the vehicle. The actuators may affect the vehicleitself, such as the vehicle speed, path or direction, or may affectphenomenon external to the vehicle or in the surroundings around thevehicle.

The vehicle may be a land vehicle typically moving on the ground, usingwheels, tracks, rails, or skies. The vehicle may be locomotion-basedwhere the vehicle is towed by another vehicle or an animal. Propellers(as well as screws, fans, nozzles, or rotors) are used to move on orthrough a fluid or air, such as in watercrafts and aircrafts. The systemdescribed herein may be used to control, monitor or otherwise be partof, or communicate with, the vehicle motion system. Similarly, thesystem described herein may be used to control, monitor or otherwise bepart of, or communicate with, the vehicle steering system. Commonly,wheeled vehicles steer by angling their front or rear (or both) wheels,while ships, boats, submarines, dirigibles, airplanes and other vehiclesmoving in or on fluid or air usually have a rudder for steering. Thevehicle may be an automobile, defined as a wheeled passenger vehiclethat carries its own motor, and primarily designed to run on roads, andhave seating for one to six people. Typically automobiles have fourwheels, and are constructed to principally transport of people.

Human power may be used as a source of energy for the vehicle, such asin non-motorized bicycles. Further, energy may be extracted from thesurrounding environment, such as solar powered car or aircraft, a streetcar, as well as by sailboats and land yachts using the wind energy.Alternatively or in addition, the vehicle may include energy storage,and the energy is converted to generate the vehicle motion. A commontype of energy source is a fuel, and external or internal combustionengines are used to burn the fuel (such as gasoline, diesel, or ethanol)and create a pressure that is converted to a motion. Another commonmedium for storing energy are batteries or fuel cells, which storechemical energy used to power an electric motor, such as in motorvehicles, electric bicycles, electric scooters, small boats, subways,trains, trolleybuses, and trams. The system described herein may be usedto control, monitor or otherwise be part of, or communicate with, thevehicle energy storage and conversion system. In automobiles and othervehicles, the system may be used for control, monitoring, or be part of,the Engine Control Unit (ECU), Transmission Control Unit (TCU),Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), or Body Control Modules (BCM).

The system may employ vehicular communication systems, where vehiclesmay communicate and exchange information with other vehicles and withroadside units may allow for cooperation and may be effective inincreasing safety such as sharing safety information, safety warnings,as well as traffic information, such as to avoid traffic congestion. Insafety applications, vehicles that discover an imminent danger orobstacle in the road may inform other vehicles directly, via othervehicles serving as repeaters, or via roadside units. Further, thesystem may help in deciding right to pass first at intersections, andmay provide alerts or warning about entering intersections, departinghighways, discovery of obstacles, and lane change warnings, as well asreporting accidents and other activities in the road. The system may beused for traffic management, allowing for easy and optimal traffic flowcontrol, in particular in the case of specific situations such as hotpursuits and bad weather. The traffic management may be in the form ofvariable speed limits, adaptable traffic lights, traffic intersectioncontrol, and accommodating emergency vehicles such as ambulances, firetrucks and police cars.

The vehicular communication systems may further be used to assist thedrivers, such as helping with parking a vehicle, cruise control, lanekeeping, and road sign recognition. Similarly, better policing andenforcement may be obtained by using the system for surveillance, speedlimit warning, restricted entries, and pull-over commands. The systemmay be integrated with pricing and payment systems such as tollcollection, pricing management, and parking payments. The system mayfurther be used for navigation and route optimization, as well asproviding travel-related information such as maps, business location,gas stations, and car service locations. Similarly, the system may beused for emergency warning system for vehicles, cooperative adaptivecruise control, cooperative forward collision warning, intersectioncollision avoidance, approaching emergency vehicle warning (Blue Waves),vehicle safety inspection, transit or emergency vehicle signal priority,electronic parking payments, commercial vehicle clearance and safetyinspections, in-vehicle signing, rollover warning, probe datacollection, highway-rail intersection warning, and electronic tollcollection.

The in-vehicle internal networks that interconnect the various devicesand components inside the vehicle may use any of the technologies andprotocols described herein. Alternatively or in addition, a vehiclespecialized networking may be used, sometimes referred to as ‘vehiclebuses’. Common protocols used by vehicle buses include a Control AreaNetwork (CAN) and Local Interconnect Network (LIN). The CAN is describedin the Texas Instrument Application Report No. SLOA101A entitled:“Introduction to the Controller Area Network (CAN)”, and may be basedon, or according to, ISO 11898 standards, ISO 11992-1 standard, SAEJ1939 or SAE J2411 standards, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The LINcommunication may be based on, or according to, ISO 9141, and isdescribed in “LIN Specification Package—Revision 2.2A” by the LINConsortium, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein. In one example, the DC powerlines in the vehicle may also be used as the communication medium, asdescribed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,010,050 to Maryanka, entitled:“Signaling over Noisy Channels”, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The system may be integrated or communicating with, or connected to, thevehicle self-diagnostics and reporting capability, commonly referred toas On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), to a Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL),or to any other vehicle network, sensors, or actuators that may providethe vehicle owner or a repair technician access to health or stateinformation of the various vehicle sub-systems and to the variouscomputers in the vehicle. Common OBD systems, such as the OBD-II and theEOBD (European On-Board Diagnostics), employ a diagnostic connector,allowing for access to a list of vehicle parameters, commonly includingDiagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and Parameters IDentification numbers(PIDs). The OBD-II is described in the presentationentitled:“Introduction to On Board Diagnostics (II)” downloaded on Nov.2012 from:http://groups.engin.umd.umich.edu/vi/w2_workshops/OBD_ganesan_w2.pdf,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein. The diagnostic connector commonly includes pins thatprovide power for the scan tool from the vehicle battery, thuseliminating the need to connect a scan tool to a power sourceseparately. The status and faults of the various sub-systems accessedvia the diagnostic connector may include fuel and air metering, ignitionsystem, misfire, auxiliary emission control, vehicle speed and idlecontrol, transmission, and the on-board computer. The diagnostics systemmay provides access and information about the fuel level, relativethrottle position, ambient air temperature, accelerator pedal position,air flow rate, fuel type, oxygen level, fuel rail pressure, engine oiltemperature, fuel injection timing, engine torque, engine coolanttemperature, intake air temperature, exhaust gas temperature, fuelpressure, injection pressure, turbocharger pressure, boost pressure,exhaust pressure, exhaust gas temperature, engine run time, NOx sensor,manifold surface temperature, and the Vehicle Identification Number(VIN). The OBD-II specifications defines the interface and the physicaldiagnostic connector to be according to the Society of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE) J1962 standard, the protocol may use SAE J1850 and maybe based on SAE J1939 Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice entitled:“Recommended Practice for a Serial Control and Communication VehicleNetwork” or SAE J1939-01 Surface Vehicle Standard entitled: “RecommendedPractice for Control and Communication Network for On-HighwayEquipment”, and the PIDs are defined in SAE International SurfaceVehicle Standard J1979 entitled: “E/E Diagnostic Test Modes”, which areall incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein. Vehicle diagnostics systems are also described in theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9141 standardentitled: “Road vehicles—Diagnostic systems.”, and the ISO 15765standard entitled: “Road vehicles—Diagnostics on Controller AreaNetworks (CAN)”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

The physical layer of the in-vehicle network may be based on, oraccording to, J1939-11 Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice entitled:“Physical Layer, 250K bits/s, Twisted Shielded Pair” or J1939-15 SurfaceVehicle Recommended Practice entitled: “Reduced Physical Layer, 250Kbits/s, Un-Shielded Twisted Pair (UTP)”, the data link may be based on,or according to, J1939-21 Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice entitled:“Data Link Layer”, the network layer may be based on, or according to,J1939-31 Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice entitled: “Network Layer”,the network management may be based on, or according to, J1939-81Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice entitled: “Network Management”, andthe application layer may be based on, or according to, J1939-71 SurfaceVehicle Recommended Practice entitled: “Vehicle Application Layer(through December 2004)”, J1939-73 Surface Vehicle Recommended Practiceentitled: “Application Layer—Diagnostics”, J1939-74 Surface VehicleRecommended Practice entitled: “Application—Configurable Messaging”, orJ1939-75 Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice entitled: “ApplicationLayer—Generator Sets and Industrial”, which are all incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one example, the router or a field unit is connected to, orcommunicating with, a diagnostic system (such as OBD-II) in a vehicle.Such communication may use OZEN Electronik EDBO/OBDII to RS-232 gatewayP/N-OE90C4000, described in the data sheet “EDBO/OBDII to RS-232 gatewayP/N-OE90C4000” by OZEN Electronik, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

For example, the router or the field unit may connect to the diagnosticconnector for accessing the various sensors or actuators coupled to theconnector, or for accessing information available via the connector.Further, the router or the field unit may be powered in part or in wholefrom the power available at the diagnostics connector, and maycommunicate over (or be part of) the diagnostics network in the vehicle.

The system may be used to measure, sense, or analyze the changes overtime of a controlled item 254, and may use the arrangement 250 shown inFIG. 25. The controlled item may be an environment, a phenomenon, or anycontrolled item. The actuator 251, which corresponds to any actuatordescribed herein, receives actuator command a(t) from the control logic253 (preferably as an electrical signal), and in response to theactuator 251 characteristic c(t) impacts the controlled item 254 by anoutput u(t). The control logic 253 corresponds to, is based on,includes, or is part of, the logic 173 or any other control processdescribed herein. The change in the controlled item 254 is measured bythe sensor 252 as input y(t), which is impacted by the controlled item254 transfer function p(t). The sensor 252 converts the sensedphenomenon y(t), and converts it to a signal f(t) using the sensortransfer function s(t). The signal (preferably an electrical signal)f(t) is sent to the control logic 253. Assuming the elements are linearand time-invariant, then the system can be analyzed using Laplacetransform, where A(s), C(s), U(s), P(s), Y(s), S(s), and F(s) are therespective transformed representations of a(t), c(t), u(t), p(t), y(t),s(t), and f(t) respectively, and where U(s)=A(s)*C(s), Y(s)=U(s)*P(s),and F(s)=Y(s)*S(s). In one example, the controlled item 254 is atemperature in a room, the actuator 251 is a heater for heating theroom, and the sensor 252 is a temperature sensor measuring thetemperature of the room, and the room temperature may be controlled inan open or closed loop by the control logic 253, for example in order toachieve a pre-set temperature in the room.

By generating or excitation of an actuator command and measuring theresulting sensor output, the control logic 253 or the system in generalmay measure, sense, estimate, or analyze the behavior or characteristicp(t) of the controlled item 254. SinceP(s)=Y(s)/U(s)=F(s)/[S(s)*A(s)*C(s)], and since C(s) and S(s) are knownas the transfer function of the actuator 251 and the sensor 252respectively, and since A(s) is the activation or excitation signal andF(s) is the signal received from the actuator, P(s) can be calculated.The value of, or any change in P(s) over time, or any conditioning ormanipulating of the calculated P(s) may be used as a sensor data in thesystem, and thus may be part of the system control logic. Suchcalculation may be used to sense or measure a phenomenon that is notdirectly measured or sensed by using a corresponding sensor. Forexample, the calculation may be used as a sensor data for other controlloops in the system, for setpoint adjustment of other control loop, orused for user notification. The control logic may initiate suchmeasurement cycle periodically, upon power up, upon the user control(for example via a user device), or as part of a regular control.

In one example, the controlled item 254 is a temperature in a room, theactuator 251 is a heater for heating the room, and the sensor 252 is atemperature sensor measuring the temperature of the room. The chart 260in FIG. 26 shows the heater command a(t) in graph 261, and graphs 262shows the temperature sensor output f(t), along the time axis 263.Before time point t1, the system is in a steady state, where the heaterlevel of heating is a1 and the temperature measured is f1. For example,a1 may be zero (no heating), and the temperature f1 is corresponding to20° C., which may be the environment temperature. At time point t1, theheater is activated (or the heating level increases) to constant levela2. As a response, the room temperature, as measured by the temperaturesensor, will start to rise, as shown in graph 262 a. The rate of risingis dependent upon the room isolation, other heat sources in the room,the room size and volume, and other parameters. For example, in the casethe room isolation is affected by an open door or open window, thetemperature rise may be at a lower rate, such as shown in graph 262 c.Similarly, in the case a human enters the room (acting as a heatsource), electrical equipment is turned on and dissipates heat, or theisolation is improved by closing a door, the rate of the temperaturerise may be higher, such as in graph 262 b. Hence, by analyzing thetemperature change in the room versus the heater command, the roomenvironment may be sensed, for example for sensing if the room door isopen or closed, or serve as an occupancy sensor that a human is in theroom, as a substitute (or in addition) to a direct and dedicated door oroccupancy sensor. A simple analysis may include time measuring, such aschecking the room measured temperature versus a threshold f2 264. In thecase the door is half closed, the room temperature will rise accordingto graph 262 a, crossing the threshold f2 occurs at time point t3. Inthe case the door is fully closed thus providing better isolation, theroom temperature will rise according to graph 262 b, crossing thethreshold f2 occurs at time point t2, and in the case the door is openthus providing poor isolation, the room temperature will rise accordingto graph 262 c, crossing the threshold f2 occurs at time point t4. Theperiod measured from the heater excitation t1 to the various thresholdf2 crossing points (such as t2-t1, t3-t1, and t441) may serve as anindicator or sensor to the door status.

The arrangement 255 shown in FIG. 25a is a common closed loop control,where the control logic 258 (corresponding to the control logic 253)includes a reference input r(t), a substractor 257, and a control block256, which may for example be a PID unit for forming a PID closed loop.Similar to the above scenario, the p(t) may be estimated by measuringf(t) versus the excitation a(t). In one example, such a loop uses abang-bang control, where the heater has a fixed single heating state,generating a set heat. Assuming that in order to keep a pre-settemperature in a room (e.g. 20° C.) the heater is operating, and theloop causes a duty cycle of the heater operation to be 50%. In the casethe control loop raises the duty-cycle to 70% (with the same set point)it may indicate an open door or a human leaving the room. Similarly, inthe case the control loop lowers the duty-cycle to 30% (with the sameset point) it may indicate close door or a human entering the room.

To allow communications between devices, a computing or networkingdevice preferably includes a network interface or an adapter, such ascommunication interface 141 or interface 214. While the preferredembodiment contemplates that communications will be exchanged primarilyvia Ethernet, Internet or a broadband network, other means of exchangingcommunications are also contemplated. For example, a wireless accessinterface that receives and processes information exchanged via awireless communications medium, such as, cellular communicationtechnology, satellite communication technology, Bluetooth technology,WAP (Wireless Access Point) technology, or similar means of wirelesscommunication can be utilized by the general purpose computing devices.Such an interface commonly includes a connector for wired or conductivemedium, an antenna for over-the-air radio-frequency based communicationand fiber-optic connector for fiber-optic cable based medium. Atransceiver (transmitter/receiver set) is coupled to the connector orantenna, for transmitting to, and receiving from, the communicationmedium. A transmitter may be capable of operating at serial bit ratesabove 1 Gigabit/second, and a wired transmitter commonly usesdifferential signaling and low voltages for faster switching, such asMOS Current Mode Logic (MCML) based technology. The transmitter may usepre-emphasis or de-emphasis to shape the transmitted signal tocompensate for expected losses and distortion. The line-code may employself-clocking and other encoding schemes, and control information istransmitted along with the data for error detection, alignment, clockcorrection, and channel bonding. Some popular encoding schemes are8B/10B, 64B/66B, and 64B/67B. A receiver is commonly designed to matewith the corresponding transmitter and to recover the data and clockfrom the received signals, and commonly use equalization, and mayfurther include impedance matching termination. Phase Locked Loops(PLLs) are commonly used for clock reconstruction and for achieving aserial clock that is an exact multiple of the parallel data. Thereceiver commonly decodes the received signal, and detectsencoding-based errors. The byte boundaries and other alignment schemesmay also be performed by the receivers. A transceiver may include amodem (MOdulator-DEModulator), that modulates an analog carrier signalto encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carriersignal to decode the transmitted information, typically in order toproduce a signal that can be transmitted easily over a communicationmedium and be decoded to reproduce the original digital data.

Any networking protocol may be utilized for exchanging informationbetween the nodes in the network (e.g., field units, router or gateway,a PC) within the network (such as the Internet). For example, it iscontemplated that communications can be performed using TCP/IP.Generally, HTTP and HTTPS are utilized on top of TCP/IP as the messagetransport envelope. These two protocols are able to deal with firewalltechnology better than other message management techniques. However,partners may choose to use a message-queuing system instead of HTTP andHTTPS if greater communications reliability is needed. A non-limitingexample of a message queuing system is IBM's MQ-Series or the MicrosoftMessage Queue (MSMQ). The system described hereinafter is suited forboth HTTP/HTTPS, message-queuing systems, and other communicationstransport protocol technologies. Furthermore, depending on the differingbusiness and technical requirements of the various partners within thenetwork, the physical network may embrace and utilize multiplecommunication protocol technologies.

The system may provide improved agility by allowing rapidly andinexpensively to provision infrastructure resources such as resourcesavailable at the remote control server, and may further provide easyaccessibility to software in the control server, in the router, or inthe field unit using Application Programming Interface (API). Using acloud-based control server or using the system above may allow forreduced capital or operational expenditures. The users may furtheraccess the system using a web browser regardless of their location orwhat device they are using, and the virtualization technology allowsservers and storage devices to be shared and utilization be increased.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans plus function elements in the claims below are intended to includeany structure, or material, for performing the function in combinationwith other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description ofthe present invention has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to theinvention in the form disclosed. The present invention should not beconsidered limited to the particular embodiments described above, butrather should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention asfairly set out in the attached claims. Various modifications, equivalentprocesses, as well as numerous structures to which the present inventionmay be applicable, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the present invention is directed upon review of the presentdisclosure.

The control server 24 or 48 hardware, software, or functionality may beinstalled, operated, maintained, supported, or hosted by a businessentity. The business entity may license or otherwise monetize thefunctionality as a service, similar to any SaaS business model. Theservice may be provided as a one-time, upfront fee paid license, oraccording to the usage of the control server. Further, the service maybe charged per user, per time, per transaction or event, or per thecommunicated data amount. In one example, the business entity is the ISPthat connects the building (or the vehicle) to the Internet (such as ISPserver 47 operator), or the WAN provider, such as the telephone company(‘Telco’) or the CATV provider owning or operating the wiring of theexternal network such as WAN 46. Similarly, a cellular network operatormay be the business entity in the case the WAN 46 is based on cellularcommunication. Such Added Revenue Per User (ARPU) is beneficial to mostcommunication service providers, since the additional revenues do notrequire any additional infrastructure investment. In one example, thecommunication service provider (such as the WAN 46 operator) may providethe router 40 for a nominal cost or even lower than nominal (e.g. free),wherein the ARPU covers the initial cost after a time. The controlserver service may be billed as a one-time fee, a flat-fee per period(e.g., monthly or annually), per a communication session, per length ofthe communication sessions, per the amount of information transferred ina session, per type of communication sessions (e.g., status, control, oralert) or any combination thereof. The business method and the systemmay be based on, or comprise, the structure and functionalitiesdescribed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0216302 to Raji et al.,entitled: “Business Method for Premises Management”.

All publications, standards, patents, and patent applications cited inthis specification are incorporated herein by reference as if eachindividual publication, patent, or patent application were specificallyand individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forthin its entirety herein.

1. A vehicle control system for commanding an actuator operationaccording in response to a sensor response associated with a phenomenonto a control, for use with one or more in-vehicle networks forcommunication in a vehicle, and one or more external networks forcommunicating with an Internet-connected control server via anothervehicle or a roadside unit external to the vehicle, the systemcomprising: a router in the vehicle, connected to the one or morein-vehicle networks and to the one or more of the external networks, andoperative to pass digital data between said in-vehicle and one or moreof the external networks; a first device in the vehicle comprising of,or connectable to, a sensor that responds to the phenomenon, the firstdevice is operative to transmit a sensor digital data corresponding tothe phenomenon to said router over said one or more in-vehicle networks;a second device in the vehicle comprising of, or connectable to, anactuator that affects the phenomenon, the second device is operative toexecute actuator commands received from said router over said one ormore in-vehicle networks; and a control server external to the vehiclestoring the control logic, and communicatively coupled to said routerover the Internet via said one or more of the external networks, whereinsaid control server is operative to receive the sensor digital data fromsaid router, to produce actuator commands in response to the receivedsensor digital data according to the control logic, and to transmit theactuator commands to said second device via said router.
 2. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of said external network is avehicle-to-vehicle network for communicating with said control servervia another vehicle.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein atleast one of the external networks is communicating with a stationarydevice, and wherein the stationary device is a roadside unit.
 4. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein said router, said first device, andsaid second device are mechanical attached to the vehicle.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is adapted for travelling onland, or water, or is airborne.
 6. The system according to claim 1,wherein the vehicle is one out of a bicycle, a car, a motorcycle, atrain, a ship, an aircraft, a boat, a spacecraft, a boat, a submarine, adirigible, an electric scooter, a subway, a train, a trolleybus, a tram,a sailboat, a yacht, and an airplane.
 7. The system according to claim1, wherein the sensor is operative to sense the phenomenon in thevehicle, external to the vehicle, or associated with surroundings aroundthe vehicle.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the actuator isoperative to affect the phenomenon in the vehicle, external to thevehicle, or associated with surroundings around the vehicle.
 9. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an automobile, andwherein said system is coupled to monitor or control an Engine ControlUnit (ECU), a Transmission Control Unit (TCU), an Anti-Lock BrakingSystem (ABS), or Body Control Modules (BCM) of the automobile.
 10. Thesystem according to claim 1 further integrated with or being part of avehicular communication system used for improved safety, traffic flowcontrol, traffic reporting, or traffic management.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 1 further used for parking help, cruise control, lanekeeping, road sign recognition, surveillance, speed limit warning,restricted entries, and pull-over commands, travel information,cooperative adaptive cruise control, cooperative forward collisionwarning, intersection collision avoidance, approaching emergency vehiclewarning, vehicle safety inspection, transit or emergency vehicle signalpriority, electronic parking payments, commercial vehicle clearance andsafety inspections, in-vehicle signing, rollover warning, probe datacollection, highway-rail intersection warning, or electronic tollcollection.
 12. The system according to claim 1, wherein one or more ofthe in-vehicle networks is a vehicle bus.
 13. The system according toclaim 12, wherein the vehicle bus is according to, or based on, ControlArea Network (CAN) or Local Interconnect Network (LIN).
 14. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein one or more of the in-vehicle networks isusing is a communication medium that is based on DC power lines of thevehicle.
 15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the vehiclefurther comprising an On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) system.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein said system is coupled to or integratedwith the OBD system.
 17. The system according to claim 16, wherein theOBD system is according to, or based on, OBD-II or EOBD (EuropeanOn-Board Diagnostics) standards.
 18. The system according to claim 16,wherein the OBD system further comprises a diagnostics connector, andwherein said router, said first device, or said second device arecoupled to the diagnostics connector.
 19. The system according to claim18, wherein said router, said first device, or said second device are atleast in part powered via the diagnostics connector.
 20. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said router is operative to communicate tosaid control server an information regarding fuel and air metering,ignition system, misfire, auxiliary emission control, vehicle speed andidle control, transmission, on-board computer, fuel level, relativethrottle position, ambient air temperature, accelerator pedal position,air flow rate, fuel type, oxygen level, fuel rail pressure, engine oiltemperature, fuel injection timing, engine torque, engine coolanttemperature, intake air temperature, exhaust gas temperature, fuelpressure, injection pressure, turbocharger pressure, boost pressure,exhaust pressure, exhaust gas temperature, engine run time, NOx sensor,manifold surface temperature, or a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).